A Weekend with the Bears

So, my husband won't mind me admitting that his choice of birthday gifts are usually...not the best. I've treasured them all, all the pencil cases and giant pencils (I kid you not!) and as my birthday drew nearer...I wasn't holding my breath about what I'd receive this year. But boy was I in for a surprise. This year he did something truly amazing for my birthday.

He booked us a night at the Wild Brown Bear lodge in Eastern Finland where we would spend the night in a hide and be able to photograph European brown bears in the wild!!

How exciting?!

The trip across to the Russian border was fun in the sunshine and I was almost shaking with excitement when we got there!

Once we'd walked in silence down to the hides, from where we wouldn't return until the following morning, we set up our tripods and cameras and waited.

Luckily, we didn't have to wait long.

First we saw a mother with two cubs in tow, then a second mother and cubs. They were followed by an adolescent bear and then three large males. Ten bears in one night.

Sleeping in a hide in the middle of the forest was an amazing experience in itself. I won't say much more, I think the photos will speak for themselves.