Khumo is a small town in Finland. Wild Brown Bear is a lodge just 2 Km from the Russian border near a buffer zone that is really a no mans land.
This is the lodge in Finland. The way it works is, you sleep here the first night, then you sleep in a hide in the forest for the rest of your trip returning to the lodge each day for meals.
This is the reception complete with restaurant, conference room, reading rooms and plenty of photos taken over the recent years of the various wildlife.
This is the conference center.
The conference center overlooks this beautiful lake. The lake is full of pike perch and other types of freshwater species.
The rooms are along a hall way like this one. Most are in suite and all are very comfortable.
The hides are strategically placed along a lake and in the forest to afford the most dramatic back drops for photographers.
This is a typical hide. The have bunk beds and mattresses so you can snooze or sleep through the night. This allows you to photograph right up until dark and at first light in the morning. The hides are about 700 meters from the lodge.
This will give you an idea of what the hides look like. They are done professionally, complete with chairs, water, and sandwiches.
The bears can show up anytime. We found they like to come around just before dusk. That made photographing a challenge but lot's of fun. In Finland baiting bears is legal. The bait is put out everyday in strategic locations and the bears go from place to place to find the snacks.
This practice is illegal in the USA and Alaska. Some people have gone to prison for feeding bears. Imagine standing in line at the chow hall of Folsom Prison with Gang members from M13, the Crips, the Bloods, the AB and others. "Hey man what you in for?" Huh? Me? Oh , well I'm in for feeding. What's that, drugs? Well not really. I was feeding Bears. Bears? Never heard of that gang. Where's their turf. "UH, it's around Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, etc. "Never heard of those towns. They near Miami? No, a little west of Miami and then north.
Anyway. No problem in Finland.
I had to ask the owner Ari Saanski. Ever had a bear attack a tourist in Finland? No! They don't associate food with people? No? Hmmmm! In the USA they attack people all the time. Maybe they associate them with hunting! Anyway I let it go. No sense in trying to explain the inexplicable.
We even saw the European Wolf. That was a great site.
What I really wanted to see was a Wolverine. In all the years I've spent in the back country I have never seen one. Check these photos out!
I loved to watch these guys. They are fast. They never walk. They run everywhere. They are very shy and very wary. They can sneak right next to your hide then disappear in a flash. It was a great experience trying to get these guys on camera. There were other photo ops as well. This Red Fox came in to check us out one day.
The birds were everywhere. He are a few we managed to get images of.
I took a walk in the forest one day by myself just to relax.
I had no idea an undocumented Russian had ran across the border through the no mans land. There are all kinds of high tech sensors and cameras there and a fine of 350 Euros if you are found past the warning signs. As I was walking out of the forest a blue official looking van with emergency lights pulled up. Two border patrol officers said "Stay where you are." They said "Do you speak English?" Taking the advice of my Lawyer friend in Montana. "If they ask you "Do you know what time it is. You answer "yes". Then "if" they ask what time it is, you say "5:30" for example. So I said YES. They asked where are you from? Now that's complicated. If I said Africa they would have probably jumped on me. Putin and Obama aren't getting along. They probably never heard of Panama. So I said "from over there in the woods" pointing to where the lodge was. They asked "What is the name of the Lodge?" I said WILD BROWN BEAR. It is the only one. They said OK go on. Apparently no Russian would have known the name of a lodge just 2 Km from his border. I walked on. I was in Finland for just 3 days and stopped by the authorities already. That is a record even for me. It usually takes me a week or more.
The scenery there is beautiful. The lakes, the marshes, the trees. It really is a little paradise.
Well that just about rounds out the trip. We had a great time. Bears, Wolverines, Border Patrol, and beautiful weather. What more could we ask for. I'm off to a game reserve in South Africa called "Thorny Bush". Lots of Nat Geo movies are made there. If I'm lucky I'll put up another blog in a week or two. Thanks for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed it. All the best.
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