6.6.2017 by Mervi & Vesa
After a good night’s sleep it was time for breakfast before visiting Nalle, Venus and Manasse again. From the window of the breakfast room we could see that the lake near our hotel was still frozen. However, the weather was fine – the sun was shining in a clear blue sky and it was rather warm, too.
On our way to the polar bears we saw this lovely statue. A nice tribute to all polar bear mothers and their cubs.
Manasse was already taking his early swimming tour. He wants to keep himself in a good shape!
Then we saw Venus lying very relaxed on a rock but where was Nalle?
Our sweetie pie was in the water playing with his ball. It wasn’t round anymore but who cares – it’s fun to play with it anyway!
We were the first visitors this morning and could admire Nalle in peace and quiet. Occasionally he stopped playing and looked at us. Maybe we wanted to make sure at least somebody was watching him. Of course, a sweet, little bear boy needs to be encouraged admired! 🙂 I’m sure mama Venus takes care of the encouragement and the visitors of the admiration …..
A wet polar bear cubbie always look like a puppy. 🙂
Hey, what’s wrong looking like a puppy? Cubby or puppy – I’m very cute anyway!
Nalle kept throwing the ball and then caught it again very skilfully. This little rascal is already quite strong.
While we were watching Nalle we saw a guy with a professional looking camera coming towards us. Could it be …… oh yes, it was Marko whose eminent photos you’ve been able to admire in this magazine.
It was great to meet Marko in person and, of course, we had a long chat with him.
After Venus’s relax hour and Nalle’s water games the mother and the son decided to go indoors for a while.
While they were in the den a keeper came and placed some snacks in different places in the enclosure. There was food available even in the den but very soon the bears decided to eat in the sunshine.
The period after the snow melting and before the nature gets green is rather dull. The enclosure will soon look much nicer when the grass has grown, the trees have green leaves and the water in the pool is fresh and clear again. Even the water lever will be higher so the pool is much bigger then.
Venus is obviously making plans for the gardening season. 🙂
The queen ate her snacks with good appetite.
Even the little prince enjoyed his snacks. Nalle eats all kinds of food now but, of course, mama’s milk bar is his favourite source of nourishment.
This is our favourite photo. Nalle was so cute eating but at the same time he was prepared to jump into the next ‘adventure’. Hmm, he’s a real yuppie-Nalle – always busy! 🙂
Manasse was patiently waiting for his snacks. He really is a gorgeous looking polar bear male. It’s unbelievable he’s already 28 years old!
Although this time of the year the nature looks rather dull it still has it’s charm. Only after having a look at our photos we noticed what fantastic differences in colour the sun, the shadows and even the snow offered. The pics were taken on the same day within a few hours but there’s an amazing variety of colours.
Just like yesterday Venus and Nalle visited Manasse. OK, there’s a wall between them but I’m sure they can communicate with each other in their own special way.
Nalle seems to be wondering if papa is on the other side of the wall. Hmm, he definitely smelled something ….
… and there he was!
Hello son! I hope you’ve had a good start of this day!
Nalle seems to be thinking: ‘It’s very strange that the white stuff keeps vanishing.’- Well, we know now it’s been snowing in Ranua even after our visit so maybe there still are some white spots left.
A goodbye kiss to the snow??
Taking photos wasn’t easy when Nalle was in the snowy parts of the enclosure but the result could be quite interesting with the shadows and different shades of colours.
I always find this polar bear pose very funny. Manasse looks so relaxed – I’m going to try this pose, too! 🙂
We are both very happy to tell you that the polar bear family in Ranua is doing fine. They all look very good and according to Mari Heikkilä they are all healthy, too. What more can we hope!
We have been dreaming of this visit for months and it really exceeded all our expectations! We could even see two seasons at the same time!
Thanks to Marko’s photos we’ve been able to follow Nalle in Knuti’s Weekly but seeing him ‘live’ is, naturally, something very special. It’s impossible to describe the feeling when we saw him coming out from the den . All the time I thought I was dreaming – but I can assure you I didn’t want to wake up! 🙂
A potpourri of photos of Nalle. I don’t think they need further comments – he simply is adorable!
After purchasing some souvenirs in the shop it was time to leave Nalle and his parents. But the best souvenirs can’t be bought – the lovely memories we carry in our hearts.
In the Arctic Restaurant (in connection to the shop) we enjoyed a good dinner buffé consisting of delicious local specialities. We found everything very yammy and the price was a nice surprise – 14 euros and you can eat as much as you can!
Once again we want to thank Mari and the girls in the reception/shop for the warm welcome and VIP-treatment! 🙂
After the breakfast next morning it was time for us to drive to the Oulu Airport.
The roads Tornio – Ranua and Ranua-Oulu were in surprisingly good shape. After a long Winter there usually are problems but not here. If you feel tempted to visit Ranua by car, please, bear in mind that there’s a big possibility – or risk? – that you will meet reindeers along the road or crossing the road. We saw at least 8 reindeers when we drove from Ranua to Oulu Airport.
This is an example of how it can look when you’re driving on this road. Unfortunately I had no time to use the zoom so you can’t see the reindeer properly.
There were no delays with the flights so late in the afternoon we could see a familiar bridge between Copenhagen and Malmö. There were some mishaps with the trains so crossing the bridge which usually only takes 20 minutes now took longer than the flight from Helsinki to Copenhagen.
Finally we came home safe and sound – tired but happy meeting Mimmi and Nalle who gave us a warm welcome.
Be the first to comment