There is no need to travel to Africa to experience a safari. We drove to Dovre in Norway to see musk oxen close up.

Despite living in Norway we are located in one of the least snowy places and kind of forgot about that white fluffy stuff as we embarked on our Easter trip. As such the trip was planned without remembering that many roads in Norway are closed during the winter due to snowfall.

This lead to a lot of detours, but after a lot of driving we eventually made it to Dovre, realising that this place of course is filled with snow as well.

Thankfully our luck was about to turn for the better. The snow was hard packed and easy to cross. As the snow covered most of the food for the musk oxen it also meant that the few places where the snow had melted was close to the road and the likelihood of seing a musk ox was better.

This turned out to be very true. After leaving our car and walking for less than two minutes the very first musk oxen appeared. As if that wasn’t enough, they were also incredibly close. You should always keep at least 200 metres distance from these huge animals, but just where this trail enters the national park a fence runs along it, separating and shielding people from the other side.

And right there lied several musk oxen no more than 70 metres from us, relaxing in the sun. We did of course not go any closer, but slowly stepped back and continued into the national park.

Although it was mission accomplished after a mere 2 minutes we would like to have some photos without fences in the background and see a bit more of the national park. The musk oxen are completely wild, so it was a bit disappointing that they decided to stop right next to a fence. Therefore we carried on looking for more animals.

Again luck was on our side and 20 minutes later Tora spotted something looking like three animals just beyond 1 km from us. They looked like rocks, but rocks that moved seem unlikely and we walked towards them to get a better view.

Yes, musk ox it was and we kept on walking as close as it was allowed and safe. Because the ground was so cold and the air so warm it created an extreme amount of heat distortion that completely ruined the sharpness of the photos. Getting as close a possible therefore became critical.

The three oxen seemed to enjoy a slow lifestyle, eating some grass and bimbling around the plains.

After the second meeting with musk oxen it was time for lunch chocolate. The national park is a great place not just to view musk oxen, but also to enjoy life outdoor in general.

On our way back we found some animal tracks in the snow. They resembled small bear tracks, but have no clue if there are bears in the area and if this is actually what their tracks look like.

Further on our way back the musk oxen were still relaxing by the railroad and we were able to take some more photos.

Meeting such wild animals was a great experience and we will surely return to Dovre another time.

How to find musk oxen in Dovre

Musk oxen are wild animals, but where they decide to go is not completely random. You are most likely to see them if you joint a guided musk ox safari. One of the companies offering this advertises that in the 10 years they have been doing this, just once the tour has not resulted in seeing a musk ox. The guides talk together to track their movement and therefore have a quite good idea of where the animals are from day to day.

If you wish to save money or have the experience without too many other people around, you can do what we did and enter the national park on your own. Grisungknatten, Hjerkinn and Kongsvold Fjeldstue are three places where musk oxen likes to stay. We started our trip at Kongsvold Fjeldstue and followed the trail into the national park from there.

Most importantly is perhaps to talk to others in the area. The guides may not be the most positive to share their knowledge, after all they make a living from people not finding the animals on their own, but other hikers and people at camping sites and accommodations are usually very helpful.

Hva you seen a musk ox or would like to meet one yourself? Leave a comment below.