It was a family day and the weather was going to be good, so we looked for something that we could do and take advantage of it. Our daughter loves animals of all kinds and in the past has loved visiting the farms with other animals to see too and we decided on a new one we haven't tried before, called Orivesi Ponimaa, which is about an hour drive from our home in Finland.
The main idea of the trip was to spend time together away from the home and I guess we did manage to do that and have a good day of it, but I am not sure I would go back or recommend this trip to, well, anyone.
It is run by a family that live on the premises in a very large house and they seem to have a very alternative lifestyle, but no judgement on that. The house is supposedly open sometimes, but I ma not sure if I would dare venture in, as I kind of got the feeling there might be cousins or something locked away in the attic.
Okay, I might be exaggerating a little, but not much.
The people running it seemed nice and friendly enough and I think they have gone for a certain kind of experience, but I am not sure what it is. When we first walked in, there was a little "village" of kids playhouses that looked inviting, but as we got closer, it became less so. In some cases it was like it was made to feel haunted, with dummy witches and things planted around the place, but it also had some kind of post-apocalyptic Chernobyl vibe going on, with random broken toys scattered around and lots of spider webs (real) spread between many things.
I am not sure who it was to cater for, but with the amount of random sharp metal objects scattered conveniently through the "play" area, I suspect it is for those who have recently had their tetanus booster.
I said to my wife "I wouldn't want to be here after dark"
It could be that it has seen better days and has fallen onto hard times, but it just kind of felt that most of the "experience" was picking through mispatched trash items that have been picked up from the tip.
The highlight of the trip was that they had seven week old French Bulldog puppies and while we couldn't hold them, it was fun to watch the litter play in the sunshine with each other and we were able to get a bit of a pat through a crack in the gate. My wife is a dog person and she would have been happy just to stay watching the puppies.
They had normal farm animals, with horse, sheep, a couple mini pigs (they aren't very mini), rabbits, a cow, a couple different kinds of birds, goats and a couple alpacas - but there was something depressing about it all and while I think they do look after the animals, it kind of felt like they were ex-circus animals that escaped to a better life - but not much. However, they were all very friendly and those that could be petted did seem to enjoy the company a lot, even the pig.
It was quite out of the way and it looked like there were other people who had had the same idea as us, but were not overly excited by what they had found there. My daughter didn't seem to want to stay for very long either, which is weird considering there were animals to see and talk about.
I was pretty excited to get the camera out and enjoy interacting with the animals, but I found myself not really getting the urge to take photos at all. My daughter did enjoy talking about the animals she saw on the way home, but I think the best part of her day, was having the day with us all together, our full attention as a family.
So yeah, it was a strange place with a weird vibe and perhaps there would be people who do really enjoy it, but we weren't overly impressed by what was on offer there and we didn't stay very long. I think it took us more time to drive there. I don't think there is much more to say about this place other than, if you do choose to visit, make sure it is during the day, unless you like the haunted carnival feel.
It might be a decent place to film a horror movie though.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
I was a little scared about your thoughts of the attic, but then you said that you wouldn't want to be there when darkness comes, it scares me more.
By the way, I just noticed that the bulldog's eye is sad (at least for me).
Yeah, it looks sad in the picture, but they were quite happy puppies. I chose pictures of animals looking at the camera - some animals appeared depressed.
Maybe it was supposed to have a haunted carnival feel XD
Pity about the vibe, that kiddie house village looks almost cute O_O
I'm not sure how to feel about the phones/phone book section though, I think I kind of get what they wer going for maybe and I think I've been listening to my sister's ideas for horror games too much but that was my first thought when I saw that XD
Yeah - but for young children? Pennywise would have felt at home there.
It was cute, from a distance. Smallsteps didn't want to go inside and play in any of the houses.
I think the place was too far "between" themes, making it just a mess.
Don't blame her, not sure my kids would have wanted to at the same age either XD
well maybe youngest he can be a bit clueless a lot of the time x_x
While different, I am sure a few people would be fine and okay with it. The sharp rusty objects should go as they are unsafe, and one has to wonder do they have enough time or help to take care of all the animals needs. Odd they did not let the pups be petted, early socialization with/for dogs can make them so much more friendly toward people.
Most of them were already allocated to homes. In Finland, the puppies have to be 9 or 10 weeks old before they can leave the mother. In Australia, it used to be six.
A couple of our grocery stores allow people to set up petting stations to allow their puppies people time. It also lets potential owners see and touch the puppies. I believe it is 8 week here on the Kenai Peninsula, but as early as 4 weeks people can allow them to be handled by others so they get used to people playing with them. A lot of the dog breeders around here take the socialization of the dogs pretty serious. No one wants a dog to be a biter.
You are right as it doesn't have a good feel to it. That place has certainly seen better days, but now it's way past it's prime. But at least you had time out and golden moments with the family and the animals were a distraction from that run down feel.
It was nice to be out and about, but I am not sure if I will take anyone to visit that place again. Might be a different adventure in the winter :)
We also have many areas with plots of lands like that and it is normally when the owners are old that the places start to fall apart. But then again some others are in pristine condition and they are beauty to behold.
Maybe it is just/only the reflection, but the bunny looks like as if he/she would cry.
I think it had an eye infection...
I was gonna say it looks haunted before I read through the last parts. I probably wouldn't find it so bad though, am sure they were deliberately aiming at the weird carnival feel. Probably would be a good idea not to go alone though..lol
It was really weird and perhaps that is what they are going for - but I am not sure if it should be considered a family place.
Sounds unpleasant. The photos do look weird, wtf is that stuff doing there
It is for the ghosts of sister-cousins to use at night
seems like an interesting experience for children. what to say, after communism fell, plenty of places like this in my country.
Yeah, it would be at home in some places - here, not so much perhaps.
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Love the chernobyl and for people who’ve recently had their tetanus shots comments hahaha made me almost choke on my coffee haha