Hey Sid

Our next excursion for the day was a reindeer ride through the woods. Once again with the short days, it was quite grey when we ventured off. This wasn’t the sleigh ride I expected as we were in a traditional sled close to the ground.

While the husky ride felt more like something the dogs really enjoyed, it didn’t feel the same for the reindeer. We did learn some interesting facts about the reindeer with Lapland having a maximum number allowed before culling takes place as they do a lot of damage to the forests. The reindeer are all tagged and are free to roam. When it comes to the snow season, a certain number of reindeer are herded and utilised for the reindeer rides for tourism, and meat and skin and reindeer products for the locals. Reindeer meat is a traditional meat here and while it does seem wrong to be eating “Rudolf”, it is the same as having beef and lamb at home.

Lapland reindeer are semi-domesticated animals that are a central part of the region's culture, used for transportation, food, and warmth by the indigenous Sámi people for centuries. They are well-adapted to the arctic climate, with thick fur and specialised hooves. In fact, there are more reindeer than people in Lapland.  

The ride was a much slower pace than the husky ride but it was still a great experience slowly ambling over the snow with the forest surrounding us. I did get quite friendly with Sid, the reindeer pulling the sled behind us.

Many times during our ride he would pop his head next to me to say hi. At one point he popped his head between Brad and I, huffed and fogged up my glasses. He really go up close and personal.
And I learnt a very interesting fact - reindeers burp. Sid tried to blame Brad but it was definitely Sid.
Poor Sid is at the awkward stage when his antlers are shedding the velvet covering. This process occurs when the antlers are fully grown and the blood supply ceases to flow to the antlers. The velvet like covering starts to dry up and become quite itchy, causing the reindeer to scrape their antlers wherever they can to remove the covering. It doesn’t look that pretty for the reindeer but it doesn’t cause them any pain either.

After the ride we got to feed the reindeer and warm up in one of the teepee like structures of the traditional Sami. Warm berry juice and ginger biscuits are a treat.

This was another surreal and amazing day. Being from Australia we would often find ourselves smiling with joy at the snow covered landscape, being amazed at the beauty of it all.Leia mais