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Watching Brown Bears padding out of the forest, delicious meals and the thrill of a night spent in a forest hide: Gill Murphy describes her 'Sweden's Bears' holiday with us last year.
Brown Bear
I just got back from Naturetrek's Sweden's Bears holiday and am returning exit poll questionnaire to Naturetrek today. However, I think a few more words are warranted. The location of Vargas Lodge on the lake is stunningly beautiful and our hosts Hakan and Eva couldn't have been more welcoming. Of course I'd looked at alternatives in Finland, both in your brochure and a gazillion others – which is what put me off, along with large hides and the virtual promise of bears in semi-industrial numbers.
The experience at Vargas was everything I'd hoped for – simple and very personal; from the little wooden cottages with their own log-burning stoves to the sauna where you could take half a dozen steps outside and plunge into the lake. One of the other guests was a fisherman and Hakan soon sorted him out with a rod plus lure and a boat, and on the back of his efforts we had fresh pike one evening. I can't find enough superlatives for Eva's cooking ... just thinking about it starts my mouth watering ... ah, cinnamon cake! At this time of year it's not a place to come for birds (although the evocative call of the black-throated diver will stay with me for a long time plus I shared the landing stage on the lake with a goosander and her two well-grown chicks for half an hour) and we were unfortunate with the weather. However, the slow walk up to the hide as the mist curled in, with Hakan pointing out bear prints alongside the path and trees that had been used for claw sharpening, was possibly more memorable for that.
One of the Swedish visitors who shared the hide with us that night called it a 'troll forest' and he was spot on. Very atmospheric! The first bear padded silently out of the mist into the clearing at about 9pm (just as Hakan had predicted) and he was big – everyone gasped and we were all riveted from then on. After that bear left there was a hiatus during which we tucked into wonderful pate, cold meats, salads and red wine + cognac. The second bear (also a male) was much smaller and very leery – as it happens he had every reason to be and we watched with our hearts in our mouths as he was soon chased off by another, who was definitely 'the boss'. Huge, his wet coat gleaming in the last of the light, he moved with all the overt power, intent and speed of a steam train (just hope he didn't catch up with the youngster) then circled back later so we got a second chance to see him before the shadows became impenetrable gloom. Then we all took to our bunks, which were really comfortable, and only a few of us got up shortly after dawn to watch subdued light filter into the clearing and spy on the other wildlife – ie jays, swaggering hoodie crows ('geezers' if there is a non-human equivalent!), chaffinches, tits and a huge raven. No more bears, although they had been again in the dark on the trail of the fruit and yoghurt closest to the hide. The following evening we mosied around in the van and found eight moose then had supper by lamplight in a 'wanderer's' hut in the forest. Magic!
As Vargas now finds itself centrally placed between two wolf packs Hakan tells me that he's hoping to start a winter wolf-tracking/eagle watching programme this year – I can imagine the lodge and lake on a crisp, cold winter's day will be equally stunning, and it will be lucky people (including me perhaps) who will find themselves sitting around a roaring fire in Eva's dining room with wonderful company, great food and drink, and two large, soppy dogs to play with. Doesn't get much better, really!
I'd highly recommend (where we stay on the tour), and have been doing so all morning, to everyone I know (and even some I don't) – with its personal touch, commitment to eco-friendly practices, and passion about and commitment to the local wildlife.
To find more information on our 'Sweden's Bears' holiday, please click here.