Overview
Finland is one of the last bastions in Europe for once prevalent predators such as Brown Bear and Grey Wolf: add the incredibly secretive and powerful Wolverine into the mix and you have a trio of mammals to wet the photographic appetite. We have timed this trip to take advantage of the beautiful summer evening light of the Taiga as at this time of the of year it is almost 24 hours of daylight.
We have been travelling to Finland for many years now and so our experience and knowledge is of a very high standard and for this trip, we will be based in one of the premier locations in this remote eastern region of Finland, offering amazing potential in seeing these iconic predators.
We will be spending 7 nights in a purpose-built and professionally placed photographic hides offering an array of habitats and each carefully managed to attract one or more of these iconic species. This can be a tiring trip but with the potential images, and just as important, experiences on offer its rewards will be well worthwhile as seeing these beautiful predators in these remote forests is a very special experience.
Itinerary Open +Close -
Day 1: We travel to Oulu airport in Finland where we will collect our hire Van for the trip and make our way to our base for the duration of the trip. This drive will take around 4-5 hours, stopping along the way for some dinner. Once at the lodge we will get a good night’s rest after a full day’s travel. This lodge will be our base for the entire trip.
Day 2: After a leisurely breakfast we will have some time to explore the surroundings around the lodge and then have some dinner in the afternoon, ready for our first evening in the hides. Bears, Wolves and Wolverines are our main targets for this trip and our local Finnish guide has been feeding them for over thirty years. During the summer months they can usually be reliable, but we are talking about wild predators, and they can be so unpredictable. Usually the Bears arrive first, followed closely by the Wolves. We will head to the hides each afternoon after dinner to spend the whole evening/night in the hides. Different hides offer different opportunities and settings so there will be scope for variety to your images. One set of hides overlook a forest clearing and the others look out over a boreal pond or set in a mature forest. You will spend 15 hours in these hides and so you must be prepared for this. There is room to lie down and sleep though in the hides but with almost 24-hour daylight at this time of the year this would be best to do in a shift pattern, so you don’t miss out on a wolf/wolverine/bear encounter.
Days: 3 – 8: Over the course of these evenings, we will continue to rotate around the three different locations so that everyone will get the chance to spend nights at each. There will be a chance to sleep/rest during the daytime between sessions, and all the hides have sleeping areas, so you can get some rest when you are in overnight. Packed lunches and Tea/Coffee are provided for your long nights in the hides. We will arrive in the hides at around 5.00pm and then collected at around 7.30am, so long nights.
Day 9: After our final night in the hides and breakfast back at our lodge there will be a chance to freshen up and then we will be returning to Oulu airport for our connecting flights back home.
What our customers say
“Richard is always helpful and good company”.
“Richard is a lovely guide. He was attentive to the group’s needs, went above and beyond driving us an hour and a half each way when an opportunity to photograph great owl chicks are up; was an excellent and safe driver and was knowledgeable about the hides and the opportunities they gave”.
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