I'm picking right back up where I left off the other week so if you're just joining in, you might want to catch up on the previous Great Finnish Road Trip posts first!
So, when I last left you, we were heading way north to Oulanka National Park. We had already planned to head towards Kuusamo and pick up the road into the heart of the the park itself. Covering an enormous 270 square kilometres, we opted to walk a small piece of the well-known, 80km long, Karhunkierros trail.
We travelled down a rocky, rubble road for what seemed like eternity. Anything that wasn't strapped down tightly in the back of the camper van was now bouncing off the walls and rolling around our feet. The east of Finland is brown bear territory and over the last few miles I had taken to the internet to brush up on my bear-encounter survival skills. It's safe to say, by the time we reached the end of the bumpy road and the trail entrance, my nerves were a little frazzled.
Due to the fact that it was pushing 9pm when we started, the trail we chose to walk was around 5km long and took us about two hours to complete. We could have blitzed it in half the time but we kept stopping to take in the incredible scenery. I have never seen so many trees in my entire life!
After half an hour or so, my bear fear had almost disappeared; although I did insist on Scott whistling all the way to, 'warn any lurking bears of our presence' - the only survival tip that didn't involve us curling up in the foetal position and hoping for the best. I usually find people whistling so annoying but it gave me a strange sense of calm.
Note: I was totally overreacting about the whole bear thing. We probably had greater chance of being struck by a double decker bus in the middle of the forest than encountering a typically shy, brown bear - but try telling that to someone who has read way too much into Google!
It was hard to believe that with the exception of two reindeer and hundreds of mosquitos, Scott and I spent a whole two hours walking in Oulanka National Park and didn't come across another living soul! I often forget how enormous and sparsely populated Finland is.
As we climbed back in the camper van, we took a few minutes to douse ourselves in insect repellent and contemplate how far we'd come in two, short days.
Oulanka National Park, I'll never forget you - you truly were incredible!
'Sunset'
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