July 21st to 27th 2005

On the long drive from Calais in France through Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and on to Finland it is easy to forget which country you are in. The border crossing are almost transparent, only between Sweden and Finland did I have to slow down a little in case they wanted to look in the rear of my camper. They didn’t. 

Onwards to the border between Finland and Russia and it is a different matter. This is heavily marked and guarded. On the Finnish side there is a 3km wide strip of no mans land and in the Russian sector this may be 20km wide. An area of land as empty and wild as it gets in Europe. 

What better place to find the European brown bear. They wander between the two countries passport free in an area unused by man and are spreading deeper and deeper into Finland. They have become a tourist attraction and in the last few years several feeding stations have been set up where you can go and see them. All are very close to the border.  

I had booked into the one at Martinselkosen on July 21^st 2005 for 6 days. This well run hotel and bear feeding station was set up by Markus, a retired border guard. He looked a bit young to be retired, but apparently they pension them off at just 45. I imagine this reflects the hard life the job entails. Markus certainly looked the part, long legged and without an ounce of fat. The job would certainly keep you fit and has probably led to Markus having had more bear contacts in the wild than anyone else in Europe. Unfortunately he spoke no English, but his son Jani and the other guides did. 

They have two very large hides for the general public that hold 9 people each and two smaller one man photography hides. The photographers hides are in a different location, 200 metres from the general hides and are much better for pictures. The vegetation is fresher and far more attractive. I spent one night in the general hide, when it was almost empty of guests, just to see what it was like. Pictures are certainly possible, but they come a very poor second to the photo hides. 

There is always at least one of the English speaking guides in the main hides.

The photography hides cost 200 Euros a night per person and the general hide 135 Euro. Both have beds in so you can sleep for a part of the 14 hour session. The hides are a short drive and a 30 minute walk away and you enter them at 1700 hours. In the photographers hide there is a bottle to empty your bladder, while the general hide has a proper toilet.  

Fish was scattered and hidden in front of the hides and I was left alone until 0645 the following morning when the guides collected me. The bears usually appeared within minutes and were well aware the hide was occupied, but take no notice of any noise I made. I took a few head shots with the 600mm lens, but most useful was the 70-200 f2.8. They came very close. 

The light was usually good upto 2100 hours, so I had 4 hours photography. Then it got too dark at this time of year so I either just watched or went to sleep. I was told that just two weeks earlier it was light enough to photograph most of the night. The hides tend to be fully booked at the point of the longest day though. 

Although it is light enough in the mornings for more photography I never saw any bears after sun rise, although I was told it was possible.  

On the first few nights one of the English speaking guides and Marku accompanied me to the photo hides and locked me in. On the third night Marku gestured for me to follow him alone. They must have thought I was a veteran by now and knew the ropes. We had covered about 50 metres when a bear appeared on our path walking towards us. My first sight of one from outside of a hide. 

Two things went through my head very quickly. First I recalled that earlier I had learned there had only been one human casualty from bears in the last 70 years in Finland and that was a jogger who had run into a female and her cubs. He was killed.

Secondly Marku was not looking at the bear, he was staring to the side. He had not broken stride and did not appear to know it was there. I keep pace with him, but after a few more steps decided to say something in English like “there’s a f****** bear in front of us”. He had no idea what I said, but at least he turned his head and saw the bear. Still without breaking stride, he waved his arms high above his head and the bear moved off to the left. Easy stuff. Can’t say I was flustered at all, but I am glad he was there to make the decision.  

After a few nights I learnt to put some fish up in the trees as this causes the bears to raise their heads high sniffing it before stretching up. Otherwise they walk about with their head down like a vacuum cleaner most of the time. Also we put honey on the backs of the trees so that they stretched up to lick it off.  There are many bear pictures taken like this.

I had upto 4 bears at a time at the photo hide and clearly there were many individuals coming and going. Photography is just about 100% certain. 

I choose to drive as I had other places to visit on my trip, but most people fly and are picked up by the courtesy bus from a local airport. The hotel rooms cost 25 Euros for a single and 40 Euros for a double. Evening meals and breakfast are available on top of this. 

Finding it was easy enough. I left the small town of Juntusranta on the 843 road heading south for about 8 miles. Martinselkosen was well signposted up a gravel road to the left. The hotel was about 8 miles up this track and equally well signed.  

The web site with all contact details is www.martinselkosenerakeskus.com/avaussivu_english.htm