This is the main entrance to the Polar Park in Bardu, Norway which is an Arctic Wildlife Centre that visitors get to see animals native to this region of Scandinavia. We started our drive after a sumptuous breakfast at Moxy Hotel in Tromso. It typically takes two and a half hours but we had to go slow because of the heavy snowfall and icy roads.
The Polar Park opens from 10am to 3.30pm daily and is closed on 17th May and on Christmas Eve 24th Dec. The sky was weeping a wet slushy kind of snow which was not really a great experience for me. Foremost on my mind was to keep my Canon 6D camera from getting wet and so I put on my plastic raincoat which offered a wee bit of protection.
I live near the equator where its hot, hotter and hottest all year through and this is completely on the extreme end of the weather scale. My main grouse is that the tour operator did not allocate sufficient time for us to visit the sprawling park properly. It was difficult having to trudge in the snow and keep from falling on the slippery ground.
Wet, very cold and the slippery icy pathways, made it quite a challenging visit. I was lucky even to see some goats here in this enclosure which was closest to the information centre. But it would really be worth your while if you visited Bardu Wildlife Park when they have free guided tours to see the animals like the lynx, wolverine, brown bear wolf and arctic fox. In Summer season 22nd Jun through 18th Aug the tours are conducted at 1pm daily. Out of season, they run the tours only on Sat & Sun at 1pm.
If you are in for a closer encounter with the wildlife, they currently have one Photo-guiding with the Lynx and Wolverine. It does set you back by about NOK1,500 per person but it would be translated to great photo opportunities when you within the enclosure. The Polar Park team will try to get the animals close to you and you will enjoy the thrill of watching them jump after food or climb the trees at close proximity.
The Polar Park has also just opened for a Private Wolf Visit that is limited to 10 pax per event and you may contact them directly for the pricing and time slots available.
The ducks remained unperturbed by the snow or passersby snapping photos of them as they were engrossed in some squabbling amongst themselves, creating quite a raucous. I was amused by them!
I am one who prefers free and easy travel versus going on a guided tour. For one, the limited time allocated for each point of interest is never sufficient in my point of view. It is too short to make any visit meaningful and being one who enjoys photography, I do not have the freedom to dwell a little bit longer to spot anything interesting or out of the ordinary, which would make a wonderful photograph and conversational piece.
The bare trees and snow blanketed scenery is indeed attractive and reminiscent of the Christmas cards I used to receive and that haunting forlornness is very different from the landscape I am accustomed to where green is the predominant colour that soothes the eyes and makes breathing easier.
It is certainly an unforgettable experience coming to Lapland in Winter and experiencing a -21°C temperature but honestly what bothered me most was the short daylight hours. The sunshine gal in me was thrown off a little and the body clock of mine went out of sync. I was sleeping more than was usual; going to bed earlier and still falling asleep on the bus journey. Now I understand why the bears hibernate in Winter; after a good filling meal, stay warm from this icy cold, get comfortable and sink into a glorious deep sleep!
Taxidermy of a Wolf
A fine specimen of a Wolverine and its fallen prey, a Reindeer.
Met a group of people coming down this slope and enquired about the Polar Bear enclosure. It took them about 2 hours to and fro, which made it impossible for us to even attempt going up as we were only going to spend about 90mins there. All the enclosures for the animals like the Bear, Moose, Lynx, Muskox, Red Deer, Reindeer, Wolf and Wolverine are on the other side of Salangselva river after crossing the bridge.
Rushing waters of the Salangselva which flows North through the Salangdalen Valley, ending in the middle of Bardu near the town of Setermoen.
travelikeme 