FLASHBACK #20: Helvetinjärvi And The Cuckoo

Towards the end of Summer 2002, Bree came to visit me on one of his rare visits to Tampere. He came up on the Friday night and we just relaxed. On the Saturday, however, we headed to Helvetinjärvi National Park. I had been reading about some of Finland's National Parks online and suggested that we take a picnic on a trek.

Approximately 60kms north of Tampere, the National Park covers an area of 49 sq.km and was established quite recently in 1982. The Park has attracted visitors since the 1800's and the deep gorges within were formed millions of years ago by faults in the bedrock. Our aim was to find Helvetinkolu, one of the narrowest gorges. We trekked a good twenty-odd kilometres, but never did find it. Obviously, it was too narrow to notice!

However, the weather was gorgeous and, despite the active mosquitoes biting away at our skin, we pressed on. We stopped at a picnic area near the lake and, after a brief lunch, continued along the trail. Before long, Bree told me to be quiet and listen. I couldn't hear anything so I turned up the volume on my hearing device. We waited... After nearly two minutes, standing as still as we could, I heard it. The pleasant, soothing call of a cuckoo. I had never heard a cuckoo before in my entire life and this simple experience actually turned out to be the highlight of the day!

As we headed back towards the car park, we spotted a lake nearby with a beach. It had been a hot, sweaty day in the forest so we went for a dip. It was at this time that I started to develop an appreciation for the lakes in Finland. I will always remember the warm glow of the late afternoon sun on the lovely lake of Helvetinjärvi.

Related Link: http://www.luontoon.fi/page.asp?Section=5418