Brown Bears in Finland August 22 - 25, 2008 (3 nights)

Cost: Euro 700 per person (twin shared basis) excluding flights

Massive, powerful, Finland's national animal and Europe's largest predator. Join us for three evenings in Finland, very close to the Russian border to observe and photograph Brown Bears with the added bonus of a variety of birdlife and potentially Wolves and Wolverines.

Our intention as always, is to maximize our viewings of the wildlife so we are offering the opportunity to take advantage of the Northern summer extended light and photograph these Brown bears throughout the evenings when they are out foraging. The intention is to overnight in the hides, returning to our accommodation during the day to shower and get some sleep (!!) so that we are in reasonable shape to be ready to return to the hides to observe and photograph the Bears again the next evening. Instead of using one large hide, we will have the opportunity of staying in small groups of 2-4 in a range of different hides specifically catering for photographers. The hides are smaller than those on offer elsewhere which is a huge plus and we will hopefully see more than just Bears; potentially Wolves, Wolverines and Golden and Sea Eagles as well.

Focusing on the Bears, we will be right up near the Russian border where Bears have not been hunted out and come across from Russia into Finland. In Finland there are restrictions on hunting Bears and in August the chances of seeing them are very high. Nothing is guaranteed with wildlife of course, but it may well be possible to see a number of bears together at the same time and although the light for photographic purposes may not always be great, there will of course be only a few hours of darkness per day in August so over-nighting in the hides, some set in the forest, others near the lake, will optimize the chances of good photographs and also provide a variety of settings. The Bears may come very close to the hides if we are extremely quiet. Otherwise, they may be 20 or so metres away so a range of lenses would work well. Our hides will have shelf mounted ball heads for attaching to lenses or bodies; these stabilize the gear and minimize noise and disruption when panning, the ball heads are available to hire at a reasonable rate. You do need to be incredibly quiet in the hides; no sudden movements and very limited toilet breaks (or you?ll disturb the Bears and incur the wrath of your fellow photographers!)

The forest area is very scenic and can be enjoyed for itself during the day and although this trip is predominantly about seeing the Bears, there is an impressive list of birds present including Sea and Golden eagles and Wolves and Wolverines may also be a possibility, more likely here than at the other hides offering this sort of trip; this is due to a difference in feed.

Flights

We accompany all of our trips and this is no exception. You will need to book your return flights, London - Helsinki - Kujaani and you should book these concurrently with paying our deposit (20%). From Kujaani we will be collected and driven north to our accommodation and we will then quickly settle into our hides for our first evening. The following flights will be accompanied by ourselves:

Out: Friday 22nd August

AY5904 London - Helsinki 12.30-17.25

AY387 Helsinki - Kajaani 19.20-20.20

Return: Monday 25th August

AY382 Kajaani - Helsinki 7.45-8.45

AY839 Helsinki - London 14.05-15.10