Dance of the northern lights

Whoops of joy from weary travellers ring out through the tour bus at 1am as finally the big show starts - the northern lights are dancing across the sky, the mesmerising green, pink, red, yellow and white of the aurora borealis mixed together to create one of the best light displays in the world, in Yellowknife - one of the most remote cities in Canada.

It is what we have all come here for. My fellow travellers and I pile off the bus into the brisk air and there it is, lighting up the sky. If you've seen pictures of the lights, forget them. They are nothing compared to the real thing. The spinning and whirling is hypnotic. It is truly a breathtaking moment and as others clap and cheer, I am lost for words. All that's missing is a dramatic orchestral score as the illumination shimmies across the night sky.

After a couple of evenings "hunting" the lights and only seeing glimpses and a few light green tinges, the aurora has finally turned it on, and over more than half an hour, even with only a smart phone camera I am able to capture stunning images and videos.

The aurora borealis is just one reason to visit the beautiful city of Yellowknife, on the edge of the Great Slave Lake in northern Canada, and its surrounds. Read on for more.

Dene native Joe Bailey calls himself the aurora hunter. The big-hearted and humorous "Yellowknifer" operates North Star Adventures, a 100 per cent indigenous-owned tour company that offers city and cultural experiences.

On his tours he shares personal stories from his own life growing up in Yellowknife, capital of Canadian territory the Northwest Territories (NWT) and home to a welcoming community of 20,000 people. It is a place rich in indigenous history, which also touts itself as being the best place in the world to see the northern lights.

Joe speaks about his relationship with his family, growing up poor and at times living in a tent with his grandparents. He isn't ashamed of his upbringing and he makes everyone feel welcome. He already speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog and German, and is learning Hindi for his Indian guests. He welcomes me onto his comfy tour bus with a wide toothy grin and a "G'day mate", sounding like Mick from Crocodile Dundee. As Joe's bus shunts along the wide, quiet streets of Yellowknife, he tells his story, recounting wild yarns of living in a tent in minus-40-degree weather, working trap lines and tracking grizzlies.

His operation includes aurora viewings, canoe expeditions, fishing trips, snowmobile and boat tours, and sightseeing excursions across the territory where indigenous culture and the special connection to the land is shared through storytelling, food and traditional drumming.

NWT is home to 33 communities of Indigenous Nations, and each Nation or group has its own culture, traditions, knowledge keepers and sacred places.

I hadn't rowed in years - not since I left high school - but it was like riding a bike: you never forget. I worked up a sweat as I helped my crew of 12 paddle a voyageur canoe across the heart of history, culture and recreation for Yellowknifers - the Great Slave Lake.

The freshwater lake is the 11th largest in the world and, at 28,568 square kilometres, is about the size of Belgium. It is also North America's deepest lake, rich with northern pike, Arctic grayling and trophy-sized trout. Because the lake is clean and cold, fish keep near the surface in summer and with 24-hour daylight at that time of year, it means anglers can stay as late as they like.

Dotted across the lake near the shores of Yellowknife are about 30 houseboats, all beautifully painted in different patterns and colours. Residents row across the lake in summer to their jobs or to get groceries and in winter, when the lake freezes solid, they can drive their cars up to their doors.

Tour guide Cathy Allooloo is an expert paddler, survivalist, wilderness guide and former member of Canada's whitewater racing team. Along with her son and daughter, she has operated Narwal Northern Adventures, a majority indigenous-owned family business, for 40 years.

After our tour around the lake, during which we've learned about its history in between singing songs and gawking at the houseboats, we get out of the canoe for beautiful home-cooked bannock (a biscuit-scone hybrid) cooked on an open fire and a warming cup of hot chocolate.

Cathy shares an insider tip - come to Yellowknife during winter when the Snowking's festival is on and the lake is frozen solid. Every year the Snowking, aka Anthony Foliot, and his talented team of helpers build a castle made entirely from ice to celebrate the season and the Yellowknife community. It takes more than two months in minus 30 degree temperatures to build the huge castle, complete with windows, doors and gates.

Down the hill from Yellowknife's CBD is Old Town, where you are sure to pick up a zany souvenir, find a restaurant for a delicious bite to eat, or a beautiful spot to gaze over the lake and ponder the thousands of years of indigenous history that is so richly respected by the city's people.

This part of the city has waterfront mansions, galleries filled with First Nations art, fresh fish restaurants, a trading store and the much-loved Ragged Ass Road, named by drunken prospectors who found themselves "ragged ass" poor.

On my two-hour sightseeing tour with Joe from North Star Adventures he points out the house he grew up in on Ragged Ass Road and other quirky spots in the neighbourhood. He says the Ragged Ass street sign has been stolen so often, by tourists and locals alike, it is now triple bolted on, and I spot the large bolts sticking out as we drive past.

I also spy tee-pees in backyards and Joe explains they are a place where First Nations people retreat to for meditation, relaxing and tea-drinking. The tee-pees can be grand or basic, made from tarps and plastic pipe. Joe says it doesn't matter what the tee-pees look like for First Nations people; it's about taking a moment and reflecting on their culture.

The Old Town tour includes historic sites such as Yellowknife's first eatery, the Wildcat Cafe. It is so renowned, there is a replica of it in Canada's Museum of History in Ottawa.

I am probably the worst candidate to try out the beautifully appointed fine-dining restaurant Fishy People - I'm allergic to seafood. However, with a bit of notice, that is no worries for New Zealand chef Niki McKenzie who now calls Yellowknife home.

While other travellers enjoy a seafood-heavy degustation lunch, I have five courses of fish-free delights, which start with duck fat potatoes and foraged chives. The standout dish is the grouse with sweet and crunchy wild rice, rosehip and apple. Duck with asparagus and mushrooms follows, and the menu wraps up with a chocolate, raspberry and hazelnut dessert.

Despite Yellowknife being at opposite ends of the Earth from her birth country, Niki has created a pumping restaurant that showcases the best of NWT - from lake to plate is the Fishy People motto, and she uses all locally caught fish and native ingredients. Niki started selling her creations at the Yellowknife Farmers Market, with her signature dish, a fish sausage, inspired by the sausages her grandfather used to make.

I leave my mark in Bullocks Bistro, along with thousands of other tourists. I scribble my name on the wall and make a silent vow I will come back one day and show my husband.

This iconic restaurant is a highlight of the Old Town. It's located in a historic log building on the shores of Great Slave Lake, and patrons have scribbled graffiti on every square inch of the walls and ceiling, and money, business cards, love notes, photographs and postcards from all over the world have been glued to every surface. It's truly a sight to behold.

It's also the place to go for fresh fish and chips in Yellowknife - Reader's Digest magazine has declared them the best in Canada. If you don't have a booking, be prepared to queue: Bullocks Bistro is popular with locals and tourists alike. Just don't forget to bring a pen to make your mark. bullocksbistro.ca

Across the road from my hotel I can see the modern, architecturally designed Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre so I wander over for a look after rising late from aurora hunting (see below).

The cultural and historic centre, home to 75,000 objects, tells the story of Yellowknife and its people. Explorer Samuel Hearne called the Dene - the area's First Nations people - "copper Indians" because of their copper tools, hence "Yellowknife", a city officially founded in 1934 when gold was discovered, along with uranium and silver.

From imposing taxidermied bison to a Dene moose-hide boat and ancient archeological artefacts, the museum provides a look at life in the NWT from thousands of years ago to today - including how people have survived the fierce weather conditions.

I am in Yellowknife at a time of year when the days are bright and sunny with temperatures around 16 to 20 degrees Celsius and dropping to a "mild" 2 or 3 degrees at night. But in winter temperatures can drop to minus 40 degrees, and as I walk through the interactive exhibitions, the enormity of living and working on the land in such extreme conditions hits me.

I had already noticed, while exploring the city, leads with power plugs hanging out the front of car grills. A local informed me it was the plug for the electric blanket that is connected to the house power and slips around the car battery during winter so it doesn't freeze over at night.

This weather is just normal for Yellowknifers. I asked that same local, "What happens if you forget your gloves when it's minus 25?" She laughed and said: "You don't!".

Most travellers come to Yellowknife just to see the aurora borealis - it's a bucket-list experience for people from across the world.

The Dene people call it Yua'ke ngas, or sky stirring, and legends and beliefs surround the phenomena: some indigenous peoples believe the lights are spirits of ancestors, that whistling will make them dance, or that it's a sign from the Great Spirit.

The lights are in fact the result of electrically charged particles from the surface of the sun becoming captured in the Earth's magnetic field, and they can be seen on average 240 nights a year in Yellowknife. Tour guide Joe Bailey says it would be more if there wasn't 24-hour daylight in the summer months.

I was staying for four nights in Yellowknife and was excited when Joe said there was a 98 per cent chance of witnessing the spectacle if you stay for three or more nights.

The tourism industry in NWT is centred around the northern lights and night after night from 9pm onwards tourists travel to and from their hotels to try and spot them. The pursuit can sometimes see you getting home at 3am or 4am, so don't plan too many morning activities - trust me, you will need a sleep in. On my first night aurora hunting I stayed out until 4am, and that pattern continued.

There are many Indigenous northern lights tour operators to choose from. Some are small-scale intimate tours, which go out nightly on buses "chasing" the aurora, while others are large companies with major set-ups on-site including beautiful tee-pees to relax in with meals and catering.

I loved the Aurora Village with its tee-pees and Insta-worthy shots. I enjoyed a steaming hot cup of cocoa inside the tee-pee with a wood fire while waiting for the lights to show.

It is best to stay in Yellowknife for more than one night to make sure you see the lights - and booking tours with different operators across the evenings will give you a well-rounded experience. An indigenous operator like B Dene Adventures, Bucketlist Tours or Aurora Village offers a first-hand cultural experience that includes stories of the First Nations' traditional way of life, their spiritual connection with, and responsibility for, the land, and also contributes to economic opportunities for the indigenous community.

Rachael Houlihan travelled courtesy of Destination Canada and Northwest Territories Tourism

Getting there: Air Canada flies daily from Sydney to Vancouver and then on to Yellowknife.

Stay: The Explorer Hotel, 4825 49th Avenue, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Rooms from $235. explorerhotel.ca

Best time to go: Between mid-August through the end of September and from mid-November until mid-April to view the aurora borealis.

Explore more: spectacularnwt.com/