Arctic Circle Tour - Rovaniemi to Saariselka, Finland

We left Rovaniemi to visit Santa’s Workshop just on the Arctic Circle and 8 km north of town. John had been looking forward to this ever since we booked this tour. The weather was drizzly and it was 7 degrees.

We arrived at the Workshop quite early and eagerly had a look around. We were surprised that Santa lives in such a commercial

place – lots of shops, a post-office (sorry your letter from Santa didn’t arrive Georgie) and a Santa Visit Centre. It was very pretty on the way into the visiting area and if I’d known that John was going to start questioning Santa about an allegedly missing bike that he had expected one Christmas some decades ago I wouldn’t have let him go in at all. Santa must have been used to this type of behaviour and asked John if he had been good. As he wasn’t able to answer in the affirmative we took our leave and went outside.

We had officially crossed into the Arctic Circle and took multiple photos which have now been deleted. It was very exciting crossing 66? 32’ 35” into the Polar Circle. We were officially in the land of the midnight sun and the Lapland of reindeers and wilderness.

It was only a total journey of about 3 hours today. There were very scenic lakes and birch, fir and spruce trees although on one occasion

we got to see a full frontal view of a COMPLETELY naked man standing up in his hot tub in the front yard while talking to his friends and family also in the tub – a little disturbing. The Finnish are passionate about saunas – they are everywhere – every house and every hotel, even on a Ferris wheel but obviously hot tubs are in as well.

We arrived at Sodanklya, a little town in Northern Lapland, an old gold rush town and home to the Midnight Sun Film Festival and Vanha Kirkko, Lapland’s oldest Wooden church dating back to the 17th century.

Further northward we visited Tankavaara where there was a gold museum. Interesting that the world wide gold discovery displays did not mention Australia at all.

Just prior to Saariselkä the bus took us up a mountain where on a sunny day you could see Russia. It was drizzling and QUITE brisk.

We got to our stopover for the night, Saariselkä, and stayed at the Holiday Club Saariselkä. The hotel was uniquely designed – with accommodation wings extending off the side of the main building (maybe not so good for heating), a huge heated pool with sauna facilities and cowhide seating.

We had dinner at the hotel that night and there was again at least 12 different types of cooked or not-cooked fish in the buffet. As much smoked salmon as you want – just wonderful.

Saariselkä is a village in the mountainous area of Northern Finland. It is situated partly within the Urho Kekkonen National Park, Finland’s major national park. It is the largest winter sport centre in Finland and a paradise for hikers and mountain bike lovers in summer.

For average tourists like us we had read that mushroom and berry picking were high on the list of activities in Lapland. Maybe not something we would do. It wasn’t the right season for husky sledding or the Northern Lights.

The town, 1000 kms north of Helsinki, looks like a really remote outpost. We visited the supermarket where you could buy a fishing

rod, beer, knitting needles or food, as well as a wide range of tourist items and berry picking accessories. These were quite unique. You could also have a little game on the pokies on the way out.

Fun Finnish Facts:
• There are nearly 180,000 islands in and around Finland.
• Nokia, salty liquorice, Angry Birds, the Molotov cocktail, SMS and the sauna come from Finland
• Speeding tickets are calculated by the offending drivers annual income
• There is a legal concept in Finland called “Everyman’s Rights” which means you can pitch a tent, forage for berries, or catch fish from the lake for free without permission from landowners as long as you respect nature, other people and their property.

Next: Arctic Circle Tour – Saariselka, Finland to Honningsvag, Norway