“Don’t worry about wearing make-up this week, if you do you’re much more likely to get frostbite and guys also don’t worry about shaving, having a beard will protect your face.” This was part of our welcome talk by our head guide Bjorn when we arrived. This was the real Finnish wilderness where your 4×4 taxi – despite having winter tyres – has a real chance of becoming stuck on the snow-compacted roads and if you dare to go outside without your provided layers of clothing you could seriously harm your health.
Basecamp Oulanka was to be our home for the next seven days. Set deep in the forest of Oulanka National Park, the camp consists of a series of cosy log cabins, a communal dining room complete with a real wood-burning fire and a bar serving up potent Nordic specialities such as blueberry and cloudberry liquor. In true Finnish style, there’s also an on-site sauna and hot tub overlooking the frozen lake (although only the bravest residents try the Scandinavian tradition of rolling in the snow afterwards).
During our visit the temperatures hovered between an unusually balmy minus 1 and a cripplingly cold minus 30 centigrade. Although, this trip is easily worth braving these kind of temperatures. Located near just south of the Arctic Circle and right on the cusp of Finnish Lapland, you get to see the kind of scenery the organisers promise will ‘melt even the iciest of hearts’. You also have a pretty good chance of seeing the Northern Lights, and you get to participate in the kind of winter activities that you’re very unlikely to try anywhere else. We were on an Exodus Finland Holiday. A Finnish Wilderness week aimed at nature-loving, adventurous types and a trip quite unlike we’d ever experienced before…
Skis and snowmobiles
The week’s programme is balanced between organised activities, free time and optional added activities. During the week you’ll get to snowshoe through magical forests, cross-country ski over frozen lakes and hone your wilderness skills in a day’s quinzhee building. If deemed safe by your Ray Mears style instructor, you even get a chance to spend the night in your newly built snow shelter.
For those looking to step the action up a gear you also get the chance to ski down some serious slopes at the nearby resort of Ruka, climb the resident ice wall or take an adrenaline fuelled journey into the snowy wilderness on a Yamaha snowmobile. For all the activities, full instruction and equipment is provided, including clothes. You feel like you’ve been given enough clothes for three people but afterwards you will never be so thankful that you’ve been bumped up several dress sizes.
Furry friends
The husky safari was easily the highlight of everyone’s week. Being on a wilderness adventure week, you don’t just ride in a sleigh pulled by the huskies – you get to drive your very own team of six very eager, panting dogs. After a quick introduction (mostly about knowing when to brake) we set off into the snowy landscapes following each other’s team in a line. In their excitement the dogs sprint like crazy for about 50m before settling into a lope on the trail which cuts through crisp, Narnia-esque scenery. They’re very focused, but the odd distraction can happen – one bossy female kept turning to her younger pack member to tell him off and another had a fondness for sniffing passing leaves.
The huskies are clearly well looked after and are treated as part of their family by their Finnish owners. I fell in love with an icicle-eyed husky named ‘Amor.’ I found the feeling was mutual when he came to find me when we were just about to get into our taxi back to camp. I like to think he came to say goodbye…
A natural light show
Back in November we spent several cold and frustrating nights in Iceland, glued to the spot, in the middle of nowhere trying to catch even the faintest glimpse of aurora phenomenon. Finland, on the other hand just made it feel so easy. We only had to take a short walk from our cabin to find the polar darkness lit up with gently moving and playfully dancing streaks. Although of course there are no guarantees – we could have just been very lucky – but almost every night our group went down to the frozen lake for a bit of communal watching of nature’s famously elusive, beautiful light show. We swapped camera shots, told jokes to distract ourselves from the cold and occasionally defrosted our hands by the on-site tepee’s camp fire.
A sad goodbye
We spent our last night eating Nordic stew under the stars and learning how to cook pancakes alfresco in minus 28 temperatures. Our bottles of pear cider froze solid as we sat talking. At the end of the night, Bjorn led our group to the forest river. He wanted us to take a moment and reflect on our week. As we stood in silence I thought about returning to tarmac-ed roads and grey buildings. I knew I wasn’t the only one who was sad to be leaving.
Exodus (exodus.co.uk) offers a selection of Finland Holidays including the Finnish wilderness week at Basecamp Oulanka.
Written by Becky and all photos taken by Gray. All opinions are our own.
22 Comments
Hung Thai
10 March, 2016 at 2:32 amI was going to try and come back to Iceland for the Northern Lights again this year… but scratch that – Finland, here i come!!!
David Mason
20 February, 2014 at 6:04 pmAs a complete outdoor junkie I have visited a tonne of places, although Finland is not one of them. I never thought it could be as pretty as these pictures show. These pictures are also a credit to you if your not a professional photographer. Well done
Greg Prohl
16 March, 2013 at 4:31 amAnother great posting, love the photos as usual, and lucky you getting to see some northern lights. Yet another part of the world high on my must-see list. I’d say very cool but that would an understatement as well as a very lame pun.
Graham
16 March, 2013 at 4:22 pmThanks Greg, we were really lucky especially after not seeing anything in Iceland! Pleased you like our photos 🙂
Sofie
14 March, 2013 at 12:47 pmLooks like you guys had an amazing trip.
The pictures are very tempting, but I don’t know if I could deal well with the cold.
I’m cold practically 24/7 in winter, so I’d really need some decent travel gear!
Graham
16 March, 2013 at 4:26 pmHey Sofie, you might be surprised we don’t deal particularly well with the cold either but wearing all those layers definitely helps to keep you toastie!
Emily Wilson
13 March, 2013 at 4:17 pmStunning photos and sounds like a great trip!
Graham
13 March, 2013 at 9:02 pmThanks Emily!
Scott
13 March, 2013 at 3:24 pmThis has been my dream for ages, I’m going to look into this for next year. Great photos!
Graham
13 March, 2013 at 3:25 pmThanks Scott, yes you should definitely go for it!
Em
13 March, 2013 at 3:17 pmLovely article and gorgeous photos, well done guys!
Graham
13 March, 2013 at 3:26 pmThanks Em!
Freya
12 March, 2013 at 9:48 pmThese photos are absolutely gorgeous. I went to Finnish Lapland and it was probably one of my best and special holidays ever. I loved the snow mobile and husky safaris. We also saw the northern lights but not as bright and beautiful as you did.
Graham
13 March, 2013 at 3:10 pmThanks Freya, we loved the snowmobiles and huskies too. I think we were pretty lucky with the Northern Lights, we were told they were at the brightest they had been in a long.
Sofia
12 March, 2013 at 3:52 pmThis looks like such a great thing to do, I dream of one day seeing the northern lights and go dog sledding!
Graham
13 March, 2013 at 3:11 pmHi Sofia,
You definitely should go, it’s definitely a very special place!
Gentry
12 March, 2013 at 3:39 amThe photos in this post are amazing. Despite all the cold (and warnings) it seems like an amazingly “warm” place to go.
Graham
13 March, 2013 at 3:12 pmHa ha I guess there were a few ‘warnings,’ pleased you like the photos.
Dariece - Goats On The Road
12 March, 2013 at 1:52 amUhh, I really want to go to Finland! It looks stunning. I love the photo of the dogs, beautiful eyes. The cabin looked so cozy and inviting.
Where we’re from in Canada, it gets to be -40 degrees C, so I think we could handle a measily -30 😉
Cheers for the post!
Graham
13 March, 2013 at 3:13 pmThanks guys, ha ha yes minus 30 would seem like nothing! 😉
emma@gottakeepmovin
11 March, 2013 at 1:07 pmThis makes me ooze with pure jealousy! Scandinavia has been really high on my list of places to go for so long but need to pluck up the funds for it first! Great post and photos, thanks for sharing.
Graham
13 March, 2013 at 3:14 pmI think Scandinavia has to be one of our favourite places now, hope you get to go one day!