Animal Safaris in Finnish Lapland
Hello all,
And just like that, the year comes to an end. Lots of things have happened for all of us. No time was stagnant.
Some wet corners of eyes and some grin at the corners of mouth.
Some broken dreams and some accomplished ambitions.
Countless blessings and amazing opportunities.
Many fulfilled hopes and everlasting faith.
Laugher and more loud laughter
Cry and more silent, isolated lonely cry
But among all these we got one dream fulfilled and how amazingly fantastically strikingly remarkably surprisingly exceptionally astonishingly beautiful that journey was!
Yes, I am talking about our trip to Lapland. Why am I posting this after all this time? The reason is, I am living those 9 days again by writing these blogs!
Husky Safari:
Satva loves dogs. He wants a dog as a pet, and I am terrified of them. So it’s is always a debate at the time of his birthday regarding his birthday present. So when he heard about the husky safari, he was on cloud nine.
We booked a husky safari via our resort (Arctic River Resort, Ivalo) only, and they booked our tour with Extreme Huskies. The safari was beyond our imagination. Adorable huskies with glass-like lie eyes, endless snowy fields in the extreme wilderness, and speed of the sledge! This was another level of adventure that we had never dreamt of.
Our pick-up was arranged from the resort itself. Once we arrived at the farm, we met our guide, and he checked our clothes whether they were appropriate for the ride or not. They also provide you overalls if you want or if they feel your clothes are not weather appropriate. Then, he gave us a lesson on how to ride a sledge. How to start, how to increase or decrease the speed, how to make them stop, how to take turns, and most importantly, how to maintain distance between two sledges.
The huskies were more eager than us to start the journey. Kids were not supposed to drive, so they sat in a sledge pulled by Sheel, and I took control of another one while Papa sat in my sled. If you and your partner both can ride, then you can switch the position halfway. Our huskies were howling with glee as they were ready to run in pure wilderness. Their speed has no bounds, so, at times, it was becoming difficult to control the speed. You have to literally push break harder to let them know that it’s time to slow down.
The ride was magical and so is the atmosphere and the surroundings. It was like a dream world. It was like straight from some postcard. Everything was dreamy! I had to remind myself that, yes, this was really happening. I am pulling a sledge with huskies, and my father is sitting, and we are going through some majestic landscapes! It was indeed a reality.
Once the ride is complete, you can meet your dogs, take pictures with them, ask questions about them and have a cup of hot coffee or hot chocolate in a warm tipi tent. I had my doubts about if this whole thing was like torture to the dogs. But the way they can take extremely good care of the dogs, all my doubt vanished. The dogs were happy as this is what they love to do. Run and more run! Run freely in the fields. And one thing we came to know is that these all are Alaskan huskies. They are mixed breed and are extremely energetic and born to run! You will definitely feel this once you start your ride.
Points to consider:
⁃ Dress properly. As you are in extreme weather, don’t forget your thermals, jackets, gloves and beanies.
⁃ Try to book with a company that provides small group tours.
⁃ Be patient, as all must be learning with you, and enjoy the ride.
⁃ Go to the washroom before the start of the ride.
⁃ If possible, take the last sledge in the group.
⁃ The ride will definitely test your stamina. It is tricky and demanding and he’ll of a ride. So, if you have little doubt, then sit on the sledge and let your companion take over.
Reindeer safari:
Now, what is a trip to Lapland without this? Whenever we imagine about Arctic Circle or Lapland or snowy fields, we think of these cute animals. And in Lapkland, they are extra special because There are more reindeer than humans in Lapland. You will find reindeer everywhere, not only in physical form but also in restaurants, in the souvenir shops and in the signs, on the billboards, in the logos, I mean everywhere!
Most of the reindeer are used for food. Only a tiny part of their herd is used for tourism purposes. Even though you can spot reindeer in the wild, every reindeer in Lapland is half-domesticated. That means herders own them. They are half-tamed and half-wild.
You will be sitting in a sledge pulled by beautiful reindeer; you are going through the pure wilderness with picturesque surroundings, and it is the feeling of pure joy. Even while writing this after almost 9 months, I still drift into that wonderland! That’s the magic of Lapland. The safari can be of few hours or the entire day. Ours was a safari with coffee in the wilderness. As compared to the husky ride, this ride is slow and might be less thrilling. So, kids loved it less, but for me, this was pure bliss!
We were lucky enough that during our coffee and berry juice break by fire, we learned so many things about reindeer, reindeer herders, and Finnish culture. I had forgotten the taste of that black coffee for a very, very long time. He carved a beautiful bird from a piece of wood just in 15-20 minutes. And the best part came after that. We were blessed with “joik” by our guide. Yes! Joiking is a Sami song without any words, but it is so enigmatic and transformative that you might lose yourself in that divine voice.
At the end of the ride, you can feed reindeer and even take pictures with them. But don’t pet them as they don’t like it.
So, whenever you are in Lapland, don’t miss any of these two.
So this was one of the best activities we did in Lapland.
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