Sunday 28 June 2015

Nordkapp

Ooo 27 Jun 2015
We are now heading for Nordkapp, the northernmost point which is accessible by road, in the European Continent! Having left Tromsø we are heading northwards into the land of the Sami (native people) and their reindeer. We will be very excited to see reindeer, since the only wildlife we have seen so far are one moose (Elk, Elg), 2 deer, and a fox. 


This is a traditional Sami sod hut. It has a framework of birch poles covered in sod. The top is open to let out the smoke of the wood stove they had inside. This one looks as though it has been lived in, although they seem to be set up as roadside souvenir shops, also selling reindeer meat and leather goods. 


And Yes! Reindeer crossing the road...these are domesticated, some with ear tags and others with bells around their necks. They look as though they have very large eyes, but it is just colouring. 


So that's another one crossed off the bucket list!

The countryside still has magnificent fjords -check out where we slept last night! 



28 June
We are almost at NordKapp! We reached the island it sits on around 10 pm, and with the sun still high in the sky we decided try again to view the midnight sun. We wanted to see the sun dip to its lowest point without going below the horizon. So we found a north facing point and waited. Unfortunately the clouds came in again! We could see roughly where the sun was and we were quite sure by midnight that it had not gone below the horizon. In fact it was still very high - like about 4 pm at home! 

This is a picture of NordKapp taken at exactly midnight! You can see where the sun is, roughly. 



The landscape up here is described as "Tundra". It is treeless, covered in very low ground cover including lichens and mosses, and some flowering plants. 




It is reindeer country, and they are everywhere. It is said that their areas are overgrazed and their lichens are Disappearing! They are often fed isupplementary pellets n winter, so the numbers rise higher than the land alone would sustain. 



This little fellow felt a little overwhelmed by perhaps his first close encounter with motorhomes. 

29 June 2015 
We made it to Nordkapp! So have a few others, but I'm sure I don't know anyone else who has been here. The place is full of history with Russia just over there....we can see it...


And numerous WW11 stories of this area. There is a radar beacon here - no doubt monitoring Russian ship movements, and more recently oil rig movements! 



This the actual Cape, with its globe monument! 


And here we are! WOW! 

Now we head south easterly, heading for Kirkeness, on the Russian border. We will have to be careful not step over it! 










Thursday 25 June 2015

The astonishing Lofotens


25 June 2015
The Lofotens! WOW! We thought we had seen some fantastic mountains and fjords, but the Lofotens managed to trump them. 





The mountains were so high rising straight up out of the sea, and magnificent views at every turn,  that were overwhelmed and literally had to stop to rest. We found a camping spot with a great view a savoured that for the evening. 


Then we realised that we were in an ideal spot to see the midnight sun phenomenon, so we settled in for the evening. 


But late in the evening the fog rolled in, until we couldn't see the sun at all! Another fruitless attempt at the midnight sun, and a late night! 

Next day these islands continued to delight...these islands are said to have a special quality of light.







The dried fish industry thrives in these islands. We were confronted by this sight in a small cafe we visited - unusual decorations! 


And these..



If you only have a short time to see Norway I suggest seeing the Lofotens, renting one of these Robuer (fishing huts) in Svolvaer (mid coast of the Lofotons). You can rent a car there and easily spend a week touring the Lofotens. In a way a the Lofotens seem to summarise much of what Norway has to offer (IMHO). 


You can also get active with hiking, fishing, paddling etc - but don't fall into the water! 


















Midsummer's night

Monday 22nd June 2015
We have crossed the Arctic circle on midsummers day. So tonight we can see the midnight sun. We have found a very nice camping spot on a mountaintop (500m). 



This area is a National Park and hydro electricity generation area. Although it is only 500m elevation it has a good snow cap still. There are lakes, waterfalls, and a number of very pretty little huts for the use of hikers and families. 
When we arrived during the late afternoon there were people using the park, hiking, photographing, and just enjoying the view. One by one they left until we were the only ones there. Great!


Since it was mid-summer's day this was our first opportunity to see the actual mid-night sun. ie the sun should not set below the horizon. We thought of lighting a fire and dancing naked around it, but it was too cold! This was a new experience for us so we started to track the sun by making  a crude sundial. 


The sundial allowed us to predict where the lowest point of the Sun's travel would occur. Unfortunately since we were on a mountain top the sun did actually go below our horizon. We went to bed at 1.30 am without having observed the midnight sun phenomenon! Oh well there will be other opportunities I expect. 

Tuesday  22nd June. 
We have decided to get a ferry across to the Lofotens to Svolvaer, midway up the island group. This required a quick trip on the E6, which was not as boring as we had been lead to believe. We saw some great scenery (mountains of course), and we stumbled into a small town whose claim to fame is the REC company - which coincidentally made our solar panels! They are now located in Singapore though.

Having successfully reached the ferry on time we almost couldn't fit on! But we made a deal with the crew that we could be dropped off at the tiny island of Skrova, so they could fit on a couple of booked vehicles. Then we could be picked up again in 2 hours! So great! We enjoyed our time there. The main industry is Ellingson Sea Food - which processes more than half of the worlds whale catch! Today they only had salmon ships in though. 


The water around the processing plant was red with blood of the salmon being processed. I wonder what it looks like when there is a whale being carved up! A passerby mentioned feeling a bit uneasy about the blood - well I don' t have any guilty conscience about it, only sadness. 




We did a little tour around the island, probably being the first Australian vehicle ever on this island. 


Dried fish is a major product of this island (and of all of the Lofotens), used for fish soup, and also export. 



Then we put our table out on the jetty and had a great lunch with a sunny maritime view! While we waited for the ferry to return. 


This shot shows the Lofotens proper behind a village as we left Skrova. 













Sunday 21 June 2015

Crossing the Arctic (Polar) Circle, and Coastal Route 2

20 June 2015.
We are enjoying the coastal route immensly! We were to cross the Arctic ("Polar") Circle today, but we kept stopping to enjoy the view! 






Don't you love those little red huts? They were traditionally used as fishing huts, where the fishermen processed the catch and then slept upstairs for convenience. Nowadays many have been converted into cabins for renting to tourists. What a lovely place to stay for a holiday! 

Then when we were just 10km from the Arctic circle we found the best-ever camping spot! It was only 4 pm but we couldn't pass it up. 


Official sunset and sunrise times here are 7 minutes apart, and of course it doesn't get dark. 

So it looks like the Arctic circle crossing will be tomorrow morning. 

21 June 2015, mid summers day. 

We have just crossed the Arctic, or Polar Circle! We are on a ferry from Rødøy Fjord (where spent the night) going northwards to Jetvik. Because we crossed by ferry and not road we can't go the kiosk which exists to sell souvenirs of the crossing as well as a stamped certificate to prove that we have crossed the circle. So here is our proof! 


Today is midsummer's day, so tonight the sun will not set at the Arctic circle. The midnight sun is visible here for 25 days. 

Just over the circle is the Svartigen Ice Cap and glacier. 


While we're looking at it a Norwegian turned up and said that last time he was here, 10 years ago, it came down to sea level. 

So now we are continuing northwards, still on the spectacular coastal route. 







Saturday 20 June 2015

Coastal Route, E17

19 June 2015
We are currently driving the "Coastal Route" also known as E17. This is a 650km scenic drive along Norway's west coast, crossing fjords, taking ferries to offshore islands, and occasional bridge or tunnel. The scenery is quite spectacular, and quite varying too. Some parts are fairly flat, others very steep granite cliffs. 




One of them is pink, no doubt due to its pink granite ("serpentine") composition. 


There are hundreds of islands visible from the coast.


Have a look at the islands showing on this map. This shows part of our track today. It includes some of the islands, which we reach by vehicle ferry. 


The weather is beautiful today, with just a little wind to keep us short of ecstatic. We have met people in motor homes returning southwards, discouraged by the run of bad weather. We have seen more motor homes going south than northwards -a fact we find quite pleasing! One of our destinations is the Lofoten Islands, -along with hundreds of other motorhomes at this time of year, we are told. So we are hoping the recent weather will result in a little less congestion there. 

And we have seen our first MOOSE!




This dopey little fella is one of the very hairy old breed of cattle they breed up here. Cute?



This map shows our track for the last couple of days. And yes that is the Arctic circle just to the north. We should cross it tomorrow! That is breathtaking to me! I in fact I don't think I know anyone else who has crossed the Arctic circle!