Let us introduce our new Aurora Holidays mascot! Last weekend we have asked you on our Facebook page to help name our newest team member and you’ve decided: Reino the Reindeer. Thank you to everyone to everyone who voted and all of you who threw your own name suggestions into the mix.
Now that we have a suitable name for our adorable new member, we’d like to tell you a little bit more about him!
The autumn season here at Aurora Holidays has just started and we are excited for Reino to join us on all of our upcoming adventures. He will be chasing the Northern Lights with us, join us for outdoor activities and we are certain that you will see him on a group picture or two in the coming weeks and months. But where did Reino the Reindeer come from?
Well funny you should ask! Reino actually has a fascinating background story that he can’t wait to tell you:
„Many, many moons ago I was born on a cold May morning in the middle of the tunturi surrounding Utsjoki. I immediately felt the warm embrace of my mother, a strong and beautiful reindeer female. She took one look at me and vowed to protect and nurse me until I’m old enough to stand on my own four hoofs.
The summer in the tunturi went fast. Mumma reindeer and me went on adventures everywhere. Some days we’d try and find shelter from the beaming sun. Others we would walk for hours trying to find the juiciest berries to eat. But my favourite thing to do was always running. I’d run over the open wilderness with my mum close by. Sometimes we’d even run with others. Then, as the days were getting cooler, mum and me ended up in a strange place with lots of other reindeer. That day, I met my human: a reindeer herder who looks after us. I had seen humans before, mainly in strange tin containers (I think they call them cars), but never so many in one place. Mum told me, that this what they call the reindeer round-ups. My herder looked at me and I heard him say I had potential. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but me and a few of my friends were taken on an adventure. When I said goodbye to my mum, she told me that my dad too went on the very same adventure many years ago and later became one of the most successful racing reindeer Lapland had ever seen.
I started training for the famous reindeer races not long after that and soon had many human friends. Unlike some of my friends, I like the company of humans and have never been scared to get close to them. It didn’t take long for my humans to realise that I had many other talents besides running and so they decided to make me a part of their team. Aurora Holidays they call it: A magical place where we get visitors from all over the world to come and see Lapland and chase the Aurora Borealis with us. Boy oh boy, I can’t wait to go on adventures with them…”
Update: Reino’s first year as the Aurora Holidays mascot
It has now been a year since Reino the Reindeer has joined the Aurora Holidays team and we think it is time for an update. Reino has become a valued team member and it’s save to say that it has been an adventurous 12 months for him – why don’t you see for yourself?
Reino had a busy season, meeting people from around the world and joining them on some of their activities here in Utsjoki – day and night. Reino co-guided some of our autumn hikes into the wilderness surrounding the village, after all he knows the area well.
At the beginning of the season he experienced the Northern Lights for the first time. We honestly say that our guests weren’t the only ones excited about the dancing auroras in the sky.
As if experiencing the aurora borealis for the first time isn’t exciting enough, imagine the look in his adorable little reindeer eyes when the first snow came. Winter was without a doubt Reino’s favourite time to play outside.
Not only did he get to join our groups on snowshoeing hikes, no he even came along on a husky adventure. Our guests were kind enough to give him a front row seat on their sleigh (with a security distance to the dogs of course).
After the action-packed winter he got to roam around and snack on some lush green plants, but now he’s ready to go for the next season and he cannot wait what adventures you will take him on next!
