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*** FINLAND 2012 - WEEKS 12~13 *** | |||
This week's Photo
Gallery |
Wild Flora of Arctic Norway |
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Continuing this retrospective account of our
2012 travels, it is chastening to contrast winter and summer conditions in
Arctic Norway: when we were there in July
at the time of the Midnight Sun, we enjoyed almost permanent daylight with
comfortable temperatures of around 10°C depending on wind direction (an Arctic
northerly wind brought severe chill factor); at the time of writing this report
in early December, temperatures there are typically -10°C with permanent winter
darkness.
Our
plans on leaving Nuorgam, Finland's northernmost village, were to cross the
Norwegian border and head north to reach the shores of the Barents Sea at the
remote fishing villages of Båtsfjord, Berlevåg, Mehamn and Kjøllefjord. Because
of the wild terrain, absence of roads around the north coast, and fell-land
topography divided by huge fjord inlets, this would entail drives on
uncertain roads up the length of 2 separate peninsulas. For details of our
routes, click on the highlighted areas of the map right. Initially we followed
the sluggishly flowing River Tana to where it was crossed by the wide suspension
bridge at Tana Bru (Photo 1 - Tana Bru suspension bridge), and continued
northwards along east bank. Approaching the outflow into the Tana Fjord, the
river became even more shallow with broad sand banks, and the terrain
With
a population of 2,100, Båtsfjord is the administrative centre of a commune
spreading across the northern side of the Varanger peninsula. Brightly coloured
buildings spread around the head of the fjord and a rusty Russian freighter was
moored at a jetty, the road curving around the port with houses built up
the surrounding hillsides. Båtsfjord had suffered the same fate as the rest of
Finmark at the hands of retreating Germans in 1944, and had been hastily rebuilt
post-war. The modern church, not rebuilt until 1971, looked more like an
industrial warehouse from the outside but the dark interior was lit by a huge
stained glass window centred around a central glowing risen Christ-figure. Båtsfjord
was a busy little port with trawlers moored in rows down at the fishing harbour
(Photo 2 - Trawlers moored at Båtsfjord) and gulls flocking around the
fish-processing factory, but on a overcast day, it seemed an oppressively gloomy
place with nowhere locally to camp. We therefore had to retrace our route, back
over the bleak fells to Gednjehøgda, to turn off towards the more northerly and
even more isolated port of Berlevåg further around the north coast. A misty,
drizzly squall now added to the gloom with the stony wastes obscured by rain
cloud. From the road junction, Route 890 rose to 326m over Kongsfjordfjellet
following the watercourse which flowed along the length of Kongsfjorddalen. Some
9kms across the plateau, we reached a Sámi hutted settlement where a snow-mobile
was parked with its goods
We found Berlevåg Pensjonat-Camping set at the tip of one of the land-spits enclosing the town's natural inner harbour and overlooking the outer harbour. The owner greeted us with a warmly hospitable welcome; it was a perfect setting with the grassy camping area spread around the main building which housed the pension rooms and facilities (Photo 3 - Berlevåg Pensjonat-Camping). We pitched in the lee of a hut for shelter from the chill wind which blew across the harbour, and happily settled in after a long and wearying drive up to Finmark's northern coast looking out over the Barents Sea. The long and winding road from Tana Bru which we had taken today was only completed in 1959, and before that, the fishing settlement of Berlevåg with its 1,200 population relied entirely on sea access. The Hurtigruten coastal express steamers call daily, with the north- and south-bound boats coinciding at Berlevåg at 10-45pm each evening, still providing regular freight and passenger communications for this isolated community.
Displays at the museum showed the development
of Berlevåg's fishing industry and life at the fishing port: the fishing grounds
around the Barents Sea shallow coastal banks were just a short distance from the
port, but the problem for the village was to enlarge the small natural harbour
by the construction of breakwater moles to enclose a larger and deeper harbour
protected from violent Arctic storms. The museum showed a video of original film
detailing 20th century attempts to construct the moles using locally
quarried rock, but winter storms constantly smashed
In better light this morning, we were able to
gain a clearer impression of the impressive return route skirting around the
coastal bays under dramatic rocky cliffs (Photo 10 - rocky coastline on return drive from Berlevåg) with occasional reindeer strolling
across the road in front of us (see left). Beyond Kongsfjord, we finally left the north
coast behind to begin the long climb onto the high fells plateau. By now however
the sky had darkened with gloomy cloud and the first spots of rain began. At the Gednjehøgda
road junction we turned south for the 50km drive to Tana Bru with the scarred
cliffs of the high fells looking dark and forbidding. Across the barren fell
top, we began the long descent down Juladalen to the tree line to return
alongside Tana Fjord now in insistent rain under a leaden sky for the remaining
30kms to Tana Bru; click on the map above for details of our route. After a fill
of diesel at Tana Bru Ifjord was no more than a road junction where
Route 98 branched off SW towards distant Lakselv. The following morning, we
continued northwards on Route 888 alongside Laksefjorden heading once more
towards Finmark's Barents Sea coast at the head of the next peninsula and the
remote fishing villages of Mehamn and Kjøllefjord. But first we had to cross
more high land; what would the roads be like? From the fjord-side farming
villages of Lebesby and Bekkarfjord, where the Sunday morning service was just
finishing in the local kirke, we
Over the breadth of the peninsula, the road
lost height down towards the west coast and curved around to the town of Kjøllefjord,
the administrative and commercial centre of the Lebesby commune which covers the
entire Nordkinn peninsula and the totally unpopulated neighbouring peninsula of
Svæholthalvøya to the west. The town nestled around the fishing harbour, looking
out across the bay and enclosed by surrounding high cliffs (Photo 11 - Kjøllefjord
and its fishing harbour). On the outskirts of the town, a sign pointed around
to the Hurtigruten quay where a wide, flat parking area on the pier overlooking
the harbour formed a camping aire sheltered by a stone breakwater. On the
distant horizon, 2 prominent rocks stood out at the end of the headland
enclosing the waters of the outer fjord, called the Finnkirka because of their
distinctive church-shaped outline. This was a truly magnificent spot and an
obvious choice for tonight's camp. After a visit to the town and fishing harbour
(Photo 12 - Kjøllefjord fishing harbour), we settled
in and brewed tea, enjoying the afternoon sun despite the chill breeze blowing
across the fjord (Photo 13 - Camp on the pier at Kjøllefjord). The
Hurtigruten timetable showed that the north-bound coastal liner called in at Kjøllefjord
at 5-45 each afternoon
Across the plateau top of Nordkinn-halvøya, we
passed more reindeer ambling across the road than other vehicles, and descended
steeply to the land-bridge at Hopseidet, wondering how long it would be before
the Eidsfjorden from the west and Hopsfjorden from the east managed to break
through turning Nordkinn from -halvøya (half-island) to -øya, an offshore island
like Nordkapp's Magerøya now is. Regaining height on the southern side of the
gap, we were soon up onto the barren wastes and made good speed across
Slettfjell's plateau lunar landscape with the new road winding its way over the
stony The following morning, with the sky gloomy and overcast,
our plans were to move north towards Nordkapp but break our journey to Europe's
most northerly point with a staging camp at Repvåg before the
undersea tunnel to Magerøya and Honningsvåg. A telephone enquiry to the Repvåg Hotel
produced a helpful response: they were more than happy to offer us camping facilities. Before
heading north however, we called in at the information centre for Stabbursdalen
National Park, the vidda plateau which stretched from the high fells down to the
Porsanger coast. With a bitingly chill wind blowing across the fjord, we walked
the way-marked nature trail around the Stabburselva estuary where tiny
Twin-flowers managed to survive in the shelter of stunted birches, the shiny,
black Crowberries were already formed, and curlews
circled overhead. Continuing northwards along the coastline past tiny fishing
settlements, the waters of Porsanger Fjord looked cold and grey with low, gloomy
cloud covering the distant fells. The road swung round to reach Olderfjord where
the main E6 continued westwards towards Hammerfest and Alta, while we turned
north onto the E69 passing Russenes Camping where we should stay on our return
from Nordkapp. Onwards from here, the road hugged the coastline overshadowed by
high,
Leaving the little fishing settlement of Repvåg,
sheltered from Arctic storms in its inner fjord, we returned to the main E69 to
continue northwards. Beyond the vegbom with its winter convoy times sign, the
next section of road up to Honningsvåg winding around craggy headlands along the
Porsanger shoreline was well-surfaced with modern safety fences. In the distance
we could see the entrance to the 7km long undersea tunnel by which the E69
crosses deep under the sound which separates the mainland from Magerøya, the
barren, indented treeless island with Nordkapp at its northern tip (Photo 20 - Entrance to Nordkapp undersea tunnel). If you timed
your crossing through the 7kms tunnel for late morning, the north-bound Hurtigruten would pass overhead through the sound. Immediately on entering the
tunnel, the road began its steep descent to the astonishing depth of 212m below
sea level. Norway's national policy is to cover the cost of tunnel construction
by charging hefty tolls, but given the popularity of the road to Nordkapp, this
tunnel's costs had
By now misty cloud had totally enveloped the
cliff-top with visibility down to zero and a hurtling bitterly cold Arctic gale
blowing.
We felt our way back across to our camper and after a warming supper,
battened down for our night's wild camp on the Nordkapp plateau at latitude
71° 10' 10", longitude
As we passed out of the pay-booths, today's
convoys of tour-buses were starting to roll in bringing further hordes of
gullible victims for Nordkapp Hallen to rob of their krone. After a final glance
back along Vannfjord to the off-shore islands (see left), we returned to a
homely welcome at Kirkeporten Camping to
With misty conditions obscuring the distant views
the following morning, we said our farewells to the family at Kirkeporten
grateful for their hospitality, and passing the vegbom at the Nordkapp road
junction, turned south. As we passed Honningsvåg, the morning Hurtigruten was
just drawing into the port sounding its horn. Beyond the first tunnel, Route E69
wound around Sarnesfjorden, and a red-painted bulbous bulk
We had been pleasantly surprised at the range of fascinating wild flora we had continued to find at these northern latitudes, and have again included a gallery page of our photos of Wild Flora of Arctic Norway Next week we shall cross over to the NW coast of Finmark to visit the northernmost Norwegian town of Hammerfest, before crossing the Finmarksvidda to Alta and continuing around the mountainous indented fjord coastline, eventually to cross back into northern Finland at Kilpisjärvi; join us again shortly for our continuing Arctic venture. Next edition to be published in 3 weeks
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CAMPING
IN ARCTIC NORWAY 2012 - Finmark's Barents Sea coast:
Berlevåg, Kjøllefjord and Europe's
northernmost point, Nordkapp:
became
wilder with a high craggy ridge threatening to spill rock debris down onto the
road (see left). A side turning onto a dirt road led
out to the tiny settlement of Høyholmen, with a herd of reindeer grazing the
flat estuary marshlands (see right). This isolated village of red-painted wooden
cottages spreads along the far shore of the fjord, its only access being by
hand-rowed dingy. Route 890 now gained height onto cheerless, barren, treeless
fell-land, backed by craggy mountain sides, with an eagle circling overhead
silhouetted against the sombre grey sky, and descended to the road junction of Gednjehøgda. Here Route 891 continued ahead gaining height again to 356m over
the even more severely barren stony wastes of Båtsfjordfjellet with scarcely a
hint of vegetation. This featureless lunar fell-scape stretched away to distant
misty horizons, dotted with a few tarns and deep stony gullies still filled with
snow from last winter. Eventually we began the sudden descent to the northern
coastal level with our first sighting of the small industrial port of Båtsfjord
surrounded by a dark wall of high fell-land.
sleigh
(see right). The road descended to the coast at Vestebotn, a small inlet off the
main Kongsfjorden, and 
wound around the rocky coastline to the large village of Kongsfjord with its fish-drying frames
ranged across the fjord-side and brightly coloured wooden houses clustered
around the harbour. For the remaining 30kms, the road wound around craggy
headlands and wide bays backed by classic raised beaches, but driving misty rain
obscured the view (see left). Gulls circled around carrying sea-urchins in their beaks, and
cracked these open on rocks to peck out the flesh leaving the road littered
with the broken spiny shells. Beyond the lighthouse at the tip of Sandfjorden,
now totally obscured by rain-cloud, we approached the distant port of Berlevåg just visible in the mist.
In
full waterproofs on a wet and windy morning, we set off for a day's exploration
of the little fishing port. First stop was the Havne Museum housed in old sheds
which were once used in construction of the outer harbour moles. This small
museum's displays describe Berlevåg's history and the port's 19th century
expansion with settlers from elsewhere in Norway who combined fishing and
farming. In 1944 the WW2 German occupiers left Berlevåg in total devastation
(see left) and
the first dwellings of the post-war reconstruction were built from timber planks
which the Germans had used to lay out the airfield runway. The museum displayed
a 1940s baby's pram with sled-tracks instead of wheels (see right). But its
greater significance was in being the only pram in Berlevåg to have escaped the
German 1944 destruction, having been taken by the child's mother to Tana Bru;
all the rest were destroyed by the Germans along with houses and belongings. The
profoundly moving sight of this surviving baby's pram, along with memories of
the myriad of examples of German WW2 atrocities to be seen the length and breadth of
Europe, somehow symbolised the utter barbarity of German wartime destruction and
its impact on Berlevåg's civilian population, and reinforced our view that any
nation which destroys even babies' prams has long forfeited the right to be
considered part of the civilised world.
through the mole-constructions. In the 1960s~70s, a solution to strengthening
the moles to resist storm damage was eventually found using a French
device, the tetrapod, huge 12 feet high 4-legged devices of reinforced concrete which with
their 15 ton weight interlocked sufficiently to resist invasive storm tides. The
first mole was completed using tetrapods in 1964 and the second mole 10 years
later. Even after the
road from Tana Bru was completed in 1959, this was a summer-only road until the
1980s, and Berlevåg's only winter-access to the outside world remained by sea; the harbour
was the village's life-line. But before the moles' construction to create a deep
water harbour and quay for larger vessels to dock, the Hurtigruten coastal liner
would pause out in the bay and both freight and passengers would in all weathers
be ferried to and from the ship precariously in small shuttle boats. After completion of the moles with the Hurtigruten quay and terminal
building, the liners now dock each evening, still providing Berlevåg's life-line
links for freight, mail and passengers. The museum displayed a typical 1950s
home with a mail-order catalogue on the table for purchasing goods from the
outside world, delivered of course by the Hurtigruten. The tetrapod which
provided a durable solution for the harbour moles' construction has become Berlevåg's
unofficial emblem with the tetrapod monument standing by the roadside (see
right). The unassuming museum at Berlevåg, combined with the personal
recollections given to us by the charming lady-curator, had provided a
thoroughly educative insight into the town's history, its tragic wartime
suffering, and its dependence on the sea and its harbour, now enclosed by
storm-proof moles, and the nightly calling of the Hurtigruten life-line to the
outside world.
The sea still provides Berlevåg's major source
of livelihood with fishing and fishing support industries the
town's major employers, and with the squally showers of earlier now blown away,
we walked along to the inner harbour around which the town is clustered to see
the moored fishing boats, fish-processing factories and boat-repair yards.
Looking across the harbour, Berlevåg's church and radio mast were set on the
opposite hillside above the town whose houses spread up from the waterside (Photos
4 and 5 - Fishing harbour and boat repair yards at Berlevåg).
It was a busy, bustling and self-sufficient town, and the harbour was a hive of
activity, all based around fishing and its support industries (Photo 6 - Berlevåg
fishing harbour). We had learnt
earlier that, unlike many remote settlements, here at Berlevåg the young people
tended to say local since there was still employment. It was a
thriving community with a lively social life as we found later in the Neptune
pub along the harbour front: the Berlevåg Male Choir had been the subject
of a film in 2001 by Knut Erik Jensen, Cool and Crazy, which became a
Norwegian national sensation. This beautifully made film is available via Amazon and makes for nostalgic viewing. The view from the hillside vantage-point up by the church
looked out across the inner fishing harbour, and beyond the mole and Hurtigruten
quay to the misty fells backdrop. Outside the church, a stone monument engraved
with the figure of a mother and child gazing anxiously out to sea (see right) recalled the
hazards faced by those whose daily work entailed such risk in the stormy Arctic Ocean
and the concerns of families awaiting their safe return; we felt humbled at our
comfortable lives in comparison.
That
evening we cooked our supper in Berlevåg Pensjonat-Camping's homely and
well-appointed kitchen, but the day was far from over yet: we finished eating
supper in the warm comfort of our camper in time to walk over to the headland
looking across the outer harbour to the mole to await the arrival of this
evening's Hurtigruten liners. At 10-15pm the south-bound ship appeared out at
sea, approaching the entrance to the outer harbour; by chance it was
M/S Finmarken which we had watched depart from Kirkenes 2 weeks earlier, and in the
meantime had journeyed up and down the Norwegian coastline. The ship curved
around into the harbour to dock at the Hurtigruten quay and from the headland we
had a ringside seat. It took 20 minutes to load and unload freight and passengers, before the ship backed to turn in the harbour and exit the gap in
the mole. Meanwhile the north-bound boat was arriving off the harbour entrance
and the 2 boats passed with a mutual fanfare of horns (see left). The
south-bound departed towards Båtsfjord and M/S Trollfjorden docked at the quay
in turn (Photo 7 - Evening sun on the Hurtigruten liner). This ritual of passing Hurtigruten boats takes place each evening off Berlevåg between 10-30 and
11-00pm. Our photographic attention was divided between the departing
Hurtigruten and the sun dipping towards the western horizon. Tonight was the
penultimate night of the Midnight Sun period this summer at Berlevåg and as
midnight approached, the belt of cloud magically evaporated to leave the
glistening clearly outlined golden orb of Midnight Sun standing above the horizon (Photo
8 - Midnight Sun at Berlevåg).
What an worthy climax to our stay here at Berlevåg, and to cap
it all a family of seals bobbed up in the waters of the harbour alongside us and
as we returned to the camper, a prowling arctic fox scampered past (see below
left).
We woke bleary-eyed after our late night of
Midnight Sun watching, and the hazy sky promised a fair day for our long drive
back to Tana Bru and onward to Ifjord. The isolated end-of-the-world community
of Berlevåg had impressed us enormously with its bustling, self-sufficient if
hardy life-style; it had been a very happy stay at the excellent Berlevåg Pensjonat-Camping
on this wind-swept headland looking out through the gap in the harbour tetrapod
mole-wall to the bleak Barents Sea beyond. How many days of the year was the
Arctic Ocean as calm as this, we wondered? The film Cool and Crazy which
we watched later showed how violent the Arctic storms of winter could be. Before finally leaving, we turned off
to the Hurtigruten quay to examine at close quarters the interlocking tetrapods
whose ingenious design had made possible the construction of Berlevåg's reinforced
storm-proof outer harbour mole-walls. We walked out along the southern mole to
the central gap to photograph this impressive structure (Photo 9 - Tetrapods of Berlevåg's harbour mole),
before returning to the road and bidding a final and reluctant farewell to Berlevåg.
We shall certainly return one day.
service
station, we turned north on Route 98 up the western shore of the fjord to begin
the climb over a fell-land col and down to another sea loch inlet. We had
received consistent reports that, despite being designated a main east~west
road, Route 98 onward to Ifjord was in very poor condition. Tarmac soon gave way
to unsurfaced dirt road and we bumped along westwards on the rough, narrow road
in appalling weather. Serious further ascent via hair-pins brought us up onto
the barren wilderness of Ifjord fell, winding and twisting a serpentine course
across the wild plateau. A vegbom marked the start of the section which is
closed between November and May; in today's misty gloom and driving rain, we
could understand why (see right). At the high point of the plateau, with some 20kms still to Ifjord, we met road works where major reconstruction and resurfacing of the road
was taking place. Weaving around parked excavators, we finally reached the
completed new section of road for the start of the descent towards Ifjord,
passing fenced enclosures of herded reindeer, to find the Ifjord Café-Campsite.
This turned out to be a forlornly muddy place but after a wearying drive in
pouring rain over testing terrain, we were glad to settle in.
paused
at the vegbom where parked snow ploughs indicated the start of the winter
restriction section of road crossing the high body of fell-land ahead which has
the reputation as Norway's toughest stretch of winter road. During winter
months, traffic crossing the high Nordkinn-vegen can only advance in convoys
behind the snow plough, and a sign by the car park where vehicles wait gives
scheduled times for the snow plough convoys (see left). A waiting room with
sofas and toilets was clean,
unvandalised and graffiti-free - such a civilised country. The serious height
gain began immediately and a newly re-engineered stretch of road crossed the
high fell plateau, winding up and up around sweeping bends above the tree-line
towards the bare, bleak and stony fell top. This was a fearsome wilderness
devoid of any vegetation with just a few tarns and patches of unmelted snow to
relieve the monotony, and we were thankful for the line of the newly upgraded
road across the cheerless landscape especially in the gloomy, misty drizzle. We
almost expected it to begin snowing as we advanced mile after mile across this
cheerless, stony plateau. The thought of a winter crossing, even behind a snow
plough, defied the imagination. The watercourses suddenly began to gather pace,
merging into a faster-flowing channel as we began the long descent winding down
towards the long inlet from the sea at Eidsfjorden. This fjord on the western
coast with the Hopsfjorden opposite on the eastern coast almost sever the
northern Nordkinn part of the peninsula into a large separate island. But
despite German wartime attempts to cut a canal across the narrow land-bridge
(better this than shooting civilian fishermen as they did 2 days before the
capitulation in May 1945), Nordkinn remains connected to the mainland - just,
hence its description as Nordkinn-halvøya (half-island), unlike the similar
topography of Nordkapp's Magerøya which is now entirely severed to form a
separate island (see the map above). The far side of the narrow gap, we began
the re-ascent onto the high body of Nordkinnfjell, but somehow the plateau top
seemed less severe than further south with more vegetation and large herds
of grazing reindeer.
Partway
across, we reached the road junction where Route 888 continued northwards past a
Sámi reindeer herding settlement to Mehamn which we could see ahead in the
distance clustered around its anchorage. The sun at last had broken through and
the air felt milder as we descended towards the coastal village. A sign by the
church pointed to a camping place on the far side of the fishing harbour and we
drove around to investigate, passing fish-drying frames here loaded with flat
fish (see left). Mehamn is in fact one of the most northerly settlements of
mainland Europe (Nordkapp being on the off-shore island of Magerøya) and we
walked around the little fishing harbour. A small hostel-campsite stood by the
waterside which was an option for tonight, but we decided to drive over to Kjøllefjord
on the NW side of the Nordkinn peninsula where our map showed another campsite.
and 
the south-bound boat at 3-30am, 5 hours sailing time
to/from Berlevåg, and camped where we were on the pier, we again had a ring-side
view. Sure enough at 5-15, the incoming Hurtigruten could be seen in the
distance, passing the Finnkirka rocks at the entrance to the fjord (Photo 14 - North-bound Hurtigruten passing Finnkirka Rocks off Kjøllefjord).
This was one of the smaller and older of the fleet of Hurtigruten boats, M/S Lofoten, and in no time at all, she had sailed into the harbour and swung around
to dock by the Hurtigruten terminal. It was such a picturesque
scene against the
backdrop of the high, craggy cliffs. Buses were waiting at the quay to transport
any passengers disembarking at Kjøllefjord into the town. But for isolated
settlements such as this, the daily Hurtigruten is as much a lifeline for the
transport of goods. Vans were also waiting and the ship's crane was busily
unloading pallet loads of everyday goods from the cargo hold - bales of
disposable nappies, packs of Ajax Liquid, kitchen towels and crates of beer, all
the products we take for granted on the supermarket shelves all come by
Hurtigruten (Photo 15 - Unloading supplies from the Hurtigruten at Kjøllefjord).
Sea access for freight and mail is simply so much more practicable than the long
journey by road over the fells, and the Hurtigruten has been making these
deliveries for over 100 years. A forklift truck busily shifted the unloaded
pallets over to the terminal where the vans waited to take the deliveries into
town. It was all a swift, efficient and routine operation, and within 15 minutes
the ship's horn sounded to alert passengers to re-board. M/S Lofoten was unmoored and backed away from the quay,
and within minutes was steaming away across the fjord to disappear from sight
into the distance en route for Berlevåg.
The sun had been wonderfully warm during the
afternoon but by early evening, its setting line moved diagonally above the
Finnkirka Rocks casting a golden glowing tail across the width of the fjord (see
left);
despite the clear sky, it seemed unlikely we should see the Midnight Sun here at Kjøllefjord
since the sun's decline would take it behind the northern arm of cliffs
enclosing the fjord. By late evening as the wind temperature dropped markedly,
the setting sun had crossed the fjord and was approaching the northern cliffs.
We clambered up onto the breakwater for early Midnight Sun photos with the
golden trail sparkling across the water (Photo 16 - Midnight sun across the fjord at Kjøllefjord).
With this spectacular climax to our stay here on the pier at Kjøllefjord, we
turned in but woke briefly at 3-30am to photograph the south-bound Hurtigruten
M/S Kong Harold as it docked at the nearby mooring (see right). After a very chill
night, we woke to a beautiful morning with the wind dropped and sun lighting the
fellside above the fjord, warm enough to sit out for breakfast at one of the
breakwater picnic tables. We should be taking with us very happy memories of
what had to be described as 'another most memorable camping spots' here by the
harbour at Kjøllefjord (see below), but before leaving we drove round into town
to stock up with provisions in the Co-op supermarket. It was a sobering thought
that every item on the shelves from milk, vegetables, beer and cloudberry jam -
everything that we took for granted - all was transported to this remote
isolated little town by the Hurtigruten ferry. With a wistful backward glance
across to the quay where we had camped, we finally left Kjøllefjord to begin the
climb up onto Blåfjell with the winter snow fences already in place and our 250
km drive to Lakselv.
wilderness. The road descended steeply to Bekkarfjord and the winter snow plough
convoy parking area, and from there the narrow road wound around the shoreline
back to the Ifjord road junction to complete the first half of today's journey.
The onward 120 kms of Route 98 to Lakselv was thankfully wider and better
surfaced than the eastward section, and rose onto the higher fell-land, the
skyline hemmed in by craggy cliffs. We made good progress, passing little
traffic for the next 40kms across the fell plateau. As the road began the long
descent towards Porsangerfjord, we could see ahead a vast craggy canyon carved
out of the fells by the Børselva River from its vast inland gathering area. This
was the Silfar Canyon, and we pulled into a parking area to investigate. A path
lead through birch woodland to the lip of the deep canyon and the ground was
carpeted with all the familiar Arctic wild flora we had been seeing for the past
weeks: beautiful Twin-flowers, and Dwarf Cornell now passing from flower stage
with seed heads ripening and berries beginning to form as were the berries on
the Crowberry and Juniper bushes. It was then a long drive around the broad head
of Porsangerfjord eventually to reach Lakselv, a major road junction where Route
93 comes up from Karasjok, with supermarket, banks and filling stations. We
stocked up with provisions, used the ATM for cash and, weary from today's long
drive, we looked forward to setting up camp. But disaster - Solstad Camping at
Lakselv was closed, now converted to private dwelling and we had a further
drive along the western shore of Porsanger Fjord to reach the next campsite
at Stabbursnes. The wooded, marshy shore of Porsangerfjord was reindeer country;
several ambled across the busy Route
E6 and for the first time we passed a reindeer carcass by the roadside, killed
by a speeding car. We were thankful to find Stabbursdalen Camping open, set on
the banks of the Stabburselva salmon river and clearly popular with fisher-folk.
It was an expensive
site, but weary from a long drive, we gladly settled in.
craggy, slatey cliffs on the landwards side and the chill wind from across
the fjord driving breakers onto the shoreline below (see right). In the dark,
sombre gloom of a heavily overcast late afternoon, this was an eerily fearsome
stretch of road. Ahead
a long promontory
ended in massive whaleback headland falling sheer into the sea, with the narrow
road tunnelled through its base for 3kms (Photo 17 - Road north along Porsanger Fjord).
As we drew closer, we could see the tunnel mouth with the road disappearing into
the cliff. 
A
thin sun managed to break through the following morning to brighten the fishing
boats moored at the nearby rickety pier (see left). One boat had just returned and began
unloading its catch of Porsanger Fjord king crabs. The young fishermen
patiently allowed us to watch as they unloaded and sorted the enormous crabs (see
right).
Smaller crabs were tossed back into the sea and larger ones loaded into crates
for transportation to restaurant tables in the south (Photo 18 - Unloading King Crabs at Repvåg).
They even picked a king crab from the crate and insisted Sheila held the beast
for a photo (Photo 19 - King Crab caught near Repvåg). We had received
such welcoming hospitality during our stay on the quayside at Repvåg.
been recovered earlier than the anticipated 2013 date.
Toll-charges had ceased 3 weeks before our drive north, saving us the 2-way
total tolls of 384 Krone (over £42). Signs counted off the distance as we began
the steep re-ascent from the tunnel's depths to emerge into daylight, albeit
still gloomy, onto Magerøya to pass the now deserted toll-booths. After 2
further tunnels, we approached Honningsvåg, very much a
functional place with industrial surroundings,
a major transport hub for
long-distance buses, enclosed by the fjord and overshadowed by high craggy cliffs
giving the village a sullenly dismal air. We took
advantage of the large Remo supermarket on the outskirts to stock up with provisions for our stay
at Nordkapp. The north-bound Hurtigruten was moored at Honningsvåg port,
stopping here for several hours while its passengers are bussed up to Nordkapp,
and we parked down at quay alongside M/S Nordkapp (see left). The nearby TIC was
one of those where staff resent being disturbed by customers and only
reluctantly bother to serve; we did use their free access internet to check
Nordkapp's weather forecast which showed a pessimistically gloomy outlook. Along
through the village, passing the wooden quayside warehouses where fishing boats
were moored. we walked up the hill to the church, the only building to have
survived German WW2 destruction (see right); it had served as a communal
dwelling during the bitter winter of 1944 until the first replacement houses
were hastily built. From this view-point, we watched the Hurtigruten liner
depart the port en route for Kjøllefjord, Berlevåg and Kirkenes, as a
small herd of reindeer grazed the hillside below us (Photo 21 - Grazing reindeer
at Honningsvåg).
Route
E69 climbed via steep hair-pins across the treeless Arctic tundra
plateau with snow still lingering in gullies, spectacular views back down over Honningsvåg,
and the distant mountains now lit by afternoon sun. We paused at a lay-by for
the first distant views along Tufjorden to the western cliffs of the Nordkapp
peninsula (see left), and just beyond the Skarsvåg road junction, there ahead
was our first outline glimpse of the main Nordkapp cliff with its distinctive
'horn' projection. We continued along to Skarsvåg's small fishing harbour, and
just at the village outskirts, were welcomed in a friendly manner at
Kirkeporten
Camping, billed as the world's most northerly campsite. Having pitched on a grassy
area overlooking Storvassnet, we decided to make the most of the afternoon sun
to climb up the fell to see the natural rock arch of Kirkeporten from which the
campsite took its name. The way-marked path began by the campsite entrance,
rising up the gently sloping fellside where Mountain Avens, insectivorous
Butterworts and beautiful Marsh Orchids grew in profusion. The path rose up to a
large cairn on the sky-line and sloped down the far side from where we had a
closer view of the Nordkapp cliff and horn-rock outcrop. Venturing down a steep
slope to a rocky bay by the shoreline, there looming above us was the huge
natural rock-arch of Kirkeporten. We scrambled up the loose shale into the
arch's gap gazing with awe to the Nordkapp cliff across the bay (see right).
From the steep grassy slope opposite, we were able to take the classic
photograph of Nordkapp framed by the natural arch of Kirkeporten (Photo 22 - Nordkapp cliff framed by Kirkeporten natural rock-arch). Returning over the fell-top, we descended to the campsite at Skarsvåg for a
suitably Arctic Norway BBQ of grilled reindeer steaks, tender and gamey. The
evening continued warm and sunny, until temperatures dropped once the setting
sun hit the fellside slope opposite; this would have been perfect conditions for
a Midnight Sun photograph over the Kirkeporten rock-arch.
The family-run Kirkeporten Camping was indeed a welcoming and homely place with
fresh bread each morning, a lovely small restaurant, warm facilities, and
good-value prices.
The following morning, after a photo by the gate (Photo 23 - Kirkeporten Camping, the world's most northerly campsite),
we set off for the final 9km drive up to Nordkapp. The narrow lane climbed
steeply across the bare, exposed tundra fellside, and 3 kms from the road's end
we passed the parking area marking the start of the 9km trek to Knivskjellodden,
the true northernmost point of Europe. Nordkapp is the only point accessible to
vehicles and is nothing more than a huge parking area atop the 307m (1,007 feet)
high cliffs. The natural surroundings of Nordkapp's wild and remote setting are
now however polluted by the grotesquely incongruous intrusion of Nordkapp Hallen,
run by the Rica Hotel chain, a bizarrely overpriced monstrosity where everything
is promoted as 'the world's northernmost ... '. Accordingly, we dubbed Nordkapp
Hallen as the 'world's northernmost rip-off'. Access to Nordkapp's parking area,
controlled by Nordkapp Hallen, is priced at an excessive 235 NOK per person, a
total charge for 2 people of over £50 which supposedly gives access to all the
Hall's facilities. We had however been well advised that a cheaper but
unpublished tariff is available, intended for a restricted visit only but were
assured that no time checks were made. On reaching the pay-booths therefore, we
responded to the demand for 470 NOK with an insistent offer that, since we
planned only a 12 hours stay, we should pay only 160 NOK each;
even an entry
charge of £35 seemed excessive, and we had no qualms about our counter rip-off
of the world's northernmost rip-off. A number of camping-cars and the inevitable tour-buses already filled the parking area, but we chose a remote area with our
camper's back into the chill Arctic gale and kitted up fully against the
elements, trying to get our bearings. Threading our way across the stony
fell-top, we could now make out the obscenely intrusive bunker-like outline of Nordkapp Hallen with its white golf-ball dome. A fence along the cliff-top edge
stretched away NW towards the distant outline of the Kniveskjellodden peninsula
which tapered out from the main body of Magerøya's high windswept plateau down
towards its pointed tip on the shoreline some 1,500m further north into the
Polar Sea than Nordkapp (Photo 24 - Kniveskjellodden, the true northernmost point of Europe).
We oriented ourselves by reference to King Oskar's Monument, a small obelisk
which marked the visit by the then King of Sweden-Norway in 1873, who landed
here at the outermost limit of his realm from a boat 1,000 feet below and was
carried up the cliffs. On the far tip of the headland, we could see Nordkapp's skeletal
globe monument standing atop the 302m high cliffs marking the (almost)
northernmost tip of Magerøya Island and the European mainland.
There were surprisingly few people out by the globe, and they queued in an
orderly manner for photographs on the monument's plinth (see right). The Arctic wind was
bitterly cold on this exposed cliff-top, and huddled in layers of sweaters, gortex, hats and gloves, we took our photographs to mark our visit to Nordkapp (Photo 25 - Globe Monument on Nordkapp cliff-top).
By
now the misty, low cloud was casting a total gloom over the cliff-top with the
bitterly cold wind and driving drizzle making conditions difficult for
photography. Having had to pay so expensively, even at the
reduced rate, for admission, we sought shelter in the Hall to get our money's
worth. We searched unsuccessfully for
anything
worth buying from the endless tourist ephemera in the vast gift shops, and
worked on the principle of exploring all parts of the complex until someone
demanded our tickets and threw us out. No one did, and it must be said that all
the young staff we spoke to were utterly charming and politely helpful; one even admitted that most of
the staff resent Rica Hotel's exploitative overcharging. At the Nordkapp
post-office, we bought stamps for our Nordkapp post cards (bought elsewhere at
half the price!) to be franked with the Nordkapp 71° 10' 21" postmark, and
established that the toilets in the Hall were accessible from 7-00am to 1-00am.
An underground tunnel cut through the rock led out to a balcony set on
Nordkapp's cliff face high above the sea, equipped with the world's northernmost
dustbin (see left); we empathised with Finmark's bin-men! Since there were no ticket
checks at the 3D cinema, we watched the marginally impressive film of Nordkapp-Through-the-Seasons, and viewed the more interesting museum displays on the
naval battle fought off Nordkapp in Nov~Dec 1943 and sinking of the German
battle-cruiser Scharnhorst which along with the Tirpitz had sheltered at the Altafjord anchorage to attack allied Arctic convoys supplying war materiel to USSR. All in all however, Nordkapp Hallen's interior was as unimpressive as
its exterior was a grotesque intrusion into the natural environment of this
magnificent wild cliff-top.
25° 46' 59". We have
camped in many challenging conditions but none ever as extreme as this (Photo
26 - Wild-camp in Arctic conditions on Nordkapp cliff-top). We settled in
for the night wearing double layers of thermals against the cold. We hoped that
the howling Arctic gale which buffeted our camper on this exposed cliff-top
would blow away the low cloud; it didn't, and we woke the following morning with
persistent cloud still obscuring any distant view and the violent wind still
gusting (see left and right). We again sought shelter from the adverse weather
conditions in the Hall, waiting for the elusive gap in the cloud. At last the
cloud lifted to give a clearer view northward towards the misty horizon;
somewhere out there across the vast Arctic Ocean was the Polar Ice and North
Pole
(Photo 27 - Nordkapp cliffs and Arctic Ocean). Huddled in gortex
against the driving wind, we walked around the cliff-tops, taking advantage of
cloud gaps to find the viewpoint which showed the full height of Nordkapp's cliffs
and awesome precipice down to the ocean below (Photo 28 - Nordkapp's 1,007 feet high cliffs).
Further around on the eastern side, we could look over the cliffs towards the Skarsvåg peninsula where we had climbed up to the Kirkeporten arch (Photo 29 - North-eastern cliffs of Nordkapp).
Our overnight stay on Nordkapp's had been rewarding, but tinged with
disappointment that the dismal weather had denied us opportunity to witness the
glorious spectacle of the Midnight Sun over the cliff-top. But at least the low
cloud had lifted sufficiently to give sighting of Kniveskjellodden and the
northern Polar horizon. The ugly intrusion of Nordkapp Hallen with its
racketeering overpriced commercialism was an unavoidable fact of modern mass
tourism; if the bulk of visitors allowed themselves to be exploited by Nordkapp Hallen,
this further demeans the stark natural beauty of this wild cliff-top. We had
managed to experience this harsh Arctic environment while remaining largely
indifferent to the Hall's intrusive presence. It was now time to leave Nordkapp
and begin our long southward journey across Magerøya's bleak tundra with the sky still heavily overcast, but first we should enjoy a final night at Skarsvåg.
make
full use of their washing/drying machine and free wi-fi internet. That evening,
to celebrate the rewarding conclusion of our Arctic venture at Nordkapp, we
treated ourselves to supper of fish soup and reindeer stew in Kirkeporten's
excellent little restaurant. Despite the evening still being gloomy, the darkest
evening so far this trip, the setting was truly magnificent and we sat snugly in
our camper gazing with awe across the magnificent fell-scape as reindeer grazed
among the huts (see right). The occupants of a nearby German camping-car however
had other priorities, busily twirling their satellite dish scanning the Arctic
air-space for a TV signal to avoid missing the latest soap opera episode -
pathetic souls, clearly a case of cerebral atrophy, or simply downright bad
taste.
liquefied
gas tanker rode at anchor out in the bay (see left); we should learn more about
the off-shore Barents Sea Norwegian gas-fields later at Hammerfest. Soon after,
we passed through the 7kms long Nordkapp Tunnel, leaving Magerøya to rejoin the
mainland of Finmark with squalls of misty rain driving across Strandbukta Bay
and the distant peninsula of Repvåg. A little further as the weather
brightened, the sunny squally showers produced a low rainbow spanning the
fellside highlighted against the stormy sky (Photo
30 - Squally weather rainbow over Repvåg fell-land). With herds of reindeer
trotting across the road, the E69 hugged the coastline passing under towering
craggy cliffs bristling with eroded slatey outcrops. The whale-back monolithic
cliff through which the road was
tunnelled appeared ahead, silhouetted against a
dramatically stark cloud-scape, the road seeming to disappear into an
insignificant dark hole at the base of the mighty crags with cliffs towering overhead (Photo 31 - Route E69 disappearing into a tunnel mouth).
The road plunged into the darkness of the tunnel mouth and we edged nervously
through the narrow, ill-lit tunnel thankful not to meet other traffic in the
gloom. Emerging from the southern end of the last tunnel, the road wound around
the coast of Smørfjorden and down to the inlet of Olderfjord where we drew into
Russenes Camping which we had passed on our way northwards. 500m further near
the E6 road junction, a mini-market at the filling station sells basic
foodstuffs. We were booked in at Russenes by the friendly staff at the
reception-cum-souvenir shop, and across the road the campsite, ranged along the
shore of Olderfjord, had just a few spaces between the static caravans and huts.
We pitched on the shore-side looking out across the open Olderfjord as the sky
brightened with afternoon sun lighting the fjord. After the extreme Arctic
conditions of the last few days, the air felt remarkably mild; it was like
coming in from the wilds
(Photo 32 - Russenes Camping on the shores of Olderfjorden). We
had a perfect position for looking out at the pink fringed clouds across the
still waters of the fjord (see right).
