Surprising Finland
When I tell people that one of the most amazing wildlife encounters I have ever had was in Finland, the general reaction is surprise.
I travelled there with my brother in 2023. Arriving in Helsinki we took a domestic flight 3 hours north into the heart of Finland. From there, it was another 3 hour drive north east and our base for the next 4 days. It was a lodge adjacent to the Russian border.
We arrived late in the afternoon and upon checking in we were told that we had half an hour to change, grab something to eat and be ready to travel out to our hide for the night. With the hurry we didn’t get much of a briefing and therefore, it would be an understatement to say that we were not prepared for what was about to happen!
We drove about 30 minutes from the lodge and our guide took us to the hide. The hide was pretty basic, both in terms of construction and interior design. But in fairness, it was comfortable. On leaving the guide said “lock the door behind you and do not, for whatever reason, leave this hide until 8am tomorrow morning.” ok…
We settled down to a cup of tea and watched outside through the windows for any movement in the forest. All quiet for about 2 hours and then it happened.
An enormous grizzly bear emerged from the trees into the clearing in front of us, not more than 20 metres away. He looked straight us. Amazing? Yes, but more than a little bit terrifying as well. The hide was pretty basic and there is no way it would have stopped that bear if it wanted to get in. I clicked away happily (what the hell I thought) and the bear seemed not bothered by our presence. Just when we were starting to relax another bear arrived and this one was even bigger. They had a little argument and then the big guy came right up to the hide and started growling and sharpening his claws on the tree immediately in front of us. I don’t think either my brother or I took a single breath for 5 minutes.
Just when we thought things couldn’t get any more exciting, a wolverine decided to join in. Extremely rare to see one in the wild, he/she hung around for a while and we were able to take some great shots.
Finally, the bears disappeared back into the forest and we tried to rest. There was no way we were leaving even a minute before 8am! With the northern summer, it never really became dark, more an eerie twilight for a couple of hours. At 8am, we opened the door and faced a 100m walk back to where our car was parked. Nervous would be an understatement but we made it and headed back to the lodge for breakfast and a rest before doing it all again the next night.
The lodge was great, very comfortable and the food was fresh and tasty. When we talked with the guides they said there is an agreement with the bears. If you don’t leave the hide, they won’t come in. Yep, ok.
We visited a different hide in a different part of the forest each night. It was amazing and the scenery spectacular. If you want to see grizzly bears in the wild, definitely consider Finland. In total, over the 4 nights, we saw more than 30 bears.
Incredible and I can’t wait to go back.