***  NORWAY  2014   -  WEEKS 12~13  ***

CAMPING IN NORWAY 2014 - Øvre Pasvik Valley, NW Finland to Inari, Kaamanen and Karigasniemi, back into Norway at Karasjok and Kautokeino, Northern Sweden to Karesuando and Kiruna, return to Norway at Narvik, and south on E6 to Fauske:

Into the lower Pasvik Valley:  from Kirkenes we turned off onto Route 885 the road which leads down into the Øvre Pasvik Valley, that remote and curiously anomalous southward projecting salient of Norwegian territory wedged between the Russian Oblast of Murmansk on the Petsamo peninsula and the remote NE area of Finland around Lake Inarijärvi. Convoys of quarry trucks thundered along this road bringing iron ore from the re-opened mines at Bjørnvatn, and as a result of this constant pounding, the road surface was in a dreadful state with lengthy sections of tarmac totally ripped away.

Click on 4 highlighted areas of map for details of Norway, Finland, Sweden borders

Even beyond the point where the trucks turned into the vast area of spoil-heaps, the road surface continued in a neglected state along the entire 100km length of the Pasvik Valley, and we passed a sign with a mock 'point-of-interest' quatrefoil emblem announcing 'Norway's worst road' (see left) (Photo 1 - Offending mine trucks), put up by residents of the Pasvik Valley who daily have to drive along here. The state of neglect by Sør Varanger municipal authority for this road along the entire length of the Pasvik Valley, and failure to penalise the mining company whose trucks cause such severe road damage in the lower valley, is an absolute disgrace.

Øvre Pasvik National Park Centre at Svanvik, and history and wild-life of the Pasvik salient:  we continued along the bumpy road past Langfjord and approached the border zone with Russia at Holmfoss, the road now running alongside the Pasvik River with the border posts now visible. Route 885 turned inland passing small farmsteads to reach the village of Svanvik where we turned off to the Øvre Pasvik National Park Centre. Here the National Park staff helpfully gave us information about possible walks at the southern tip of the valley and advice on the state of the unsurfaced lane and track-way leading along the border fence to the Treriksrøysa Three-Countries Monument, which marks the point where the borders of Norway, Finland and Russia coincide, the only place in the world with 3 different time zones. We annotated our 1:50k map accordingly and paid the 30 NOK entrance fee for the excellent exhibition on the history and wild-life of Øvre Pasvik. Occupying the NW corner of the Siberian Taiga primeval coniferous forests, Øvre Pasvik has Norway's northernmost area of ancient virgin pine forests, with a significant and stable brown bear population. The curious border configuration creating this narrow southward-projecting salient of Norwegian territory was demarcated between Norway, Finland and Russia in 1826. During the later 19th and early 20th centuries the Norwegian government gave financial subsidies to farmers from Southern Norway to colonise the Pasvik Valley and create farmsteads in the boggy virgin forest lands to reinforce Norwegian occupancy of this ill-defined frontier territory. Even today, driving along the poorly maintained lane down the 100km length of the valley, past the homestead-descendents of these early settlers, the valley still has a borderlands feel. The botanical gardens at Svanvik were a small and beautifully laid-out cultivated oasis amid these wilderness forests, and included the blue and purple Himalayan Poppy seen at the Tromsø gardens (see left) (Photo 2 - Himalayan Poppy).

Russian metal-smelting town of Nikel from Høyde 96 Look-out Tower:  we continued along the bumpy lane through the pine forests, reaching the turning to Høyde 96, a prominent hill which during the Cold War had been the site of a military observation-tower for monitoring neighbouring USSR. We turned off around the dusty dirt-road which led to the hill-top tower, and from its look-out point we peered through binoculars with a mixture of fascination and abhorrence across the width of the Pasvik river-valley to the distant Russian metal-smelting town of Nikel. In the misty haze we could make out the obscene curiosity of Nikel's smelting works belching out clouds of noxious smoke which hung as a smog over this remote town (Photo 3 - Nikel smelting works) (see left). Shafts of sunlight caught the town's ranks of paneláki prefabricated concrete-panel apartment blocks. This was the isolated area of the Petsamo peninsula, forcibly annexed from Finland by the Soviets in 1944 to exploit the mineral deposits, and now connected to mother-Russia by a single railway line; and it was from this region that the Skolt Sámi had been displaced and resettled in Finland at Sevettijärvi.

Into the lower Øvre Pasvik Valley to Pasvik Café-Camping:  we bumped our way southwards along the valley for a further 40kms, sometimes close to the river-border, sometimes curving inland deep into the increasingly Finland-like pine forests, interspersed with an occasional farmstead and its cultivated land and meadows. At one point close by the river, hay had been cut and draped for drying over traditional hesje fencing along the river bank (see right) (Photo 4 - Hay-drying hesje). A final stretch alongside the river eventually brought us after a long, wearying and bumpy drive to the small farming hamlet of Vaggatem and Pasvik Café-Camping. We had earlier exchanged emails with the owner to get the GPS coordinates since the place's exact location was so unclear. The campsite consisted of a small gravelly clearing surrounded by huts set on a peninsula of land wedged between the main Pasvik River, which drains down from Lake Inari in Northern Finland, and the Ellenelva side-tributary. The main course of the Pasvik River, with the border with Russia running along its centre line, here was some distance to the east separated from Vaggatem by 2 peninsulas partly enclosing river-bays which the campsite overlooked. The lady-owner broke off from cutting wood to greet us in a rather taciturn manner after our long and bumpy journey to get here; she suggested a place for us to camp overlooking the side stream and rigged a power cable from the side of the café-hut. The price was expensive at 250 NOK plus 10 NOK for shower and 25 NOK/day for wi-fi internet; although costs are inevitably higher in remote spots with no alternative places to camp, this seemed unduly steep. But we were glad to settle in after an exhausting day and looked forward to a day in camp tomorrow (Photo 5 - Pasvik Café-Camping) (see left).

After a chill night we woke to a disappointingly overcast morning and spent a worthwhile day of catching up with household jobs and working on web-site updating. Children from the surrounding farmsteads gathered at the campsite to swim in the river, and when the campsite owner returned on her quad-bike we took the opportunity to ask more about farming life in this remote valley and the history of settlement by both Norwegians and Finns. Her great-grandfather had been a Finnish reindeer herder from Inari who had moved his herds to the Pasvik Valley over a period of 3 years, allowing the does to calve then slaughtering them to overcome the instinct to return home after the summer migration. Her young son proudly showed us a monster 5kg pike hanging in one of the huts which he had caught the previous evening while out fishing on the river with his grandfather. Facilities here were straightforward, limited to showers and a basic wash-up sink, but we took full advantage of the wi-fi to research GPS coordinates for key locations in the upper part of the valley in readiness for our day of exploration tomorrow in the Øvre Pasvik National Park. We sought further clarification from the campsite owner about access to the Treriksrøysa Three-Countries Monument: an unsurfaced dirt-road from an unoccupied police-post at the innermost reaches of the valley led for 20kms ending at a parking area from where a further 10km round-trip trek alongside the border fence led to the monument. We now had the crucial coordinates and the 1:50k Nordeca map, but should only find out tomorrow whether the unsurfaced road was navigable in our camper. Early evening we chatted around the campfire despite the swarming midges with other Norwegians here for the fishing.

A day in the Øvre Pasvik National Park:  the following morning we set out along the narrow lane beyond Vaggatem for our day of exploration in the Øvre Pasvik National Park.  Our principal objective was to try to reach the Treriksrøysa Three-Countries Monument, but if the 20 km long unsurfaced access lane proved un-navigable our fall-back was to take a 9kms long unsurfaced lane out alongside the Ellenelva river to walk the lake-side footpath towards the Ellenkoia hut. There was also the police border-post by the main river-border at Nyrud and nearby a bird-watching tower we had been told of overlooking the borderlands forests. As we passed through Vaggatem, it was clear that the settlement consisted only a cluster of 5 farmsteads and the café-camping. A short distance south along the bumpy lane, we reached the turning for the unsurfaced track-way along to the Ellenkoia walk, and continued through the totally deserted pine forests with just an occasional glimpse through the trees of the river-border (see above right). 3 kms on, we reached the next check-point at the Gløkåsen turning, where the 20km of dirt-road to the Treriksrøysa began. We drove some 200m along past the unoccupied police-post to investigate the state of the track-way's surface, but this was very rough with boulders. The route clearly was only accessible for 4-wheel drive vehicles, and it would have been sheer madness to risk the camper's tyres and suspension attempting to force a passage for 20kms along here; thoroughly disappointed, we gave up on the idea and turned back to the main Route 885 lane to continue around to the road's end at the temporarily closed police border-post (politi stasjon) at Nyrud. This was a remarkably trim place set among neatly maintained lawns, close to the river-border with all the usual warning signs listing the do's and don'ts of this sensitive Russian border zone. This was truly the limit of our viable travel into the extremity of the Øvre Pasvik Valley, and we turned about.

Back around to Gløkåsen, we were surprised to be flagged down by 2 young Italians who wanted to quiz us about access to the Treriksrøysa. They had driven here in a small car, determined like us to reach the Three-Countries border-cairn but unsure of the exact route. We showed them the extent and state of the 20km bouldery track to the parking area plus the 10kms trek along the border fence to and from the monument, adding it was too rough for us to risk the drive, but left it to them to weigh up the risks for themselves. A short distance north of the Gløkåsen turning, we found a sign pointing to the Fuglebu (bird-watching hut). Kitting up with midge-helmets and liberal spraying of DEET against the midges, we followed a path beyond the reindeer fence for some 300m through the pine and birch forest to the hide set on a hillock overlooking the forested river valley (Photo 6 - Pine and birch forest). The forest floor was carpeted with a covering of unripe bilberries and lingonberry still in flower (see above right). Clearly the hide had few visitors since the log-book recording visitors' sightings went back to 2005. We opened up the wooden flaps and peered through binoculars across river valley; regrettably today there was a complete absence of bird-life, but the hide's raised setting gave a clear view across towards the Russian border (Photo 7 - Pasvik river-border) (see above left). Those interested in bird watching in the Pasvik Valley and Varanger area of Northern Norway may find this web site useful:  Bird Watching in Varanger and Pasvik Valley 

By the time we returned to the road, the sun had finally broken through lighting what had earlier been a gloomy lane through the deserted forest (Photo 8 - Pasvik forest road) (see right). A short distance further north, we turned into the lane out to Ellenkoia and very tentatively began the 9km drive along the stony dirt road. Having been frustrated in our primary objective of reaching the Treriksrøysa made us even more determined to reach the our secondary target with the Ellenkoia lake-side walk which was just within the boundary of the tiny Øvre Pasvik National Park. With stones bumping against the camper's underside, we advanced very steadily along the dirt road. Never had 9kms seemed so lengthy: the lane seemed to go on interminably but at least was accurately mapped both on our sat-nav and on the 1:50k map, and at last ended at a small parking area by the northern end of Lake Svartbrysttjørma, just beyond the National Park boundary. We booted up and, with the midges swarming around our heads, donned midge-helmets to set out on the way-marked path along the pine and birch forested shore of the lake (see left) (Photo 9 - Lake Svartbrysttjørma). Although the path was well-marked, progress was slowed not only by boulders and tree roots, but the abundance of attractive wild flora which meant frequent photographic stops. But having to wear midge-helmet to keep off the swarming midges along the lake-shore was a real impediment to floral close-up photography! (Photo 10 - Midge-impeded photography). Despite this however we spent an enjoyable and very peaceful couple of hours along the lake-shore photographing Dwarf Cornell, flourishing Common Spotted Orchids (Photo 11 - Common Spotted Orchid) Bilberry and Bog Bilberry, Labrador Tea with its medicinal smell when its leaves were rubbed, Lingonberry in flower, tiny Butterworts and Twin-flowers, Nodding Wintergreen, Bog Beans by the water's edge and Cloudberries now with ripening fruits. Such was the treasure of wild flora seen both here and elsewhere around Finmark that we have again included with this edition a page of Wild life of The Arctic. Despite returning along the 9kms of dirt-road even more cautiously, the uneven stony surface managed to bump loose the rear box of George's exhaust system; at the first opportunity we should need to buy a coil of steel wire for a temporary lash-up until we could get it properly fixed. However badly surfaced, at least Route 885 was tarmac, and we returned to Vaggatem for a final sultry and very midgy night's camp at Pasvik Café-Camping.

GPS Coordinates of key locations in the Øvre Pasvik Valley:  we had learned much from our 3 days along the Øvre Pasvik Valley, and the Nordeca 1:50k series map of the upper valley (sheet 10168) had been an essential accompaniment, available from Upton-upon-Severn Map Shop in UK or from the Libris Bookshop at Dr. Wessels gate 10 in Kirkenes. To help other travellers who may wish to follow in our footsteps into the Øvre Pasvik Valley, we have given below a schedule of key locations with their GPS coordinates. See also Detailed map of Øvre Pasvik Valley

Crossing into Northern Finland at Näätämö:  the following morning we bumped our way back along the 90kms return northwards drive down the valley following the course of the Pasvik River, finally reaching the E6 to turn westwards from Kirkenes along Neidenfjord. After a pause for photographs of Skoltfossen waterfalls despite today's overcast weather (Photo 12 - Skoltefossen waterfalls), we turned off onto Route 893 towards the Finnish border (see left) (Photo 13 - Norway~Finland border) and just beyond stopped at the Näätämö K-Market supermarket and filling station which as always was doing a brisk trade with Norwegian cross-border shoppers seeking better prices for both food and fuel across in Finland. As when we had passed this way northwards into Finmark 2 years ago, a small herd of reindeer were roaming the parking area (see right) (Photo 14 - Näätämö reindeer). We took the opportunity to stock up with some of the items on our Finnish shopping list at €-prices so much more acceptable than in Norwegian food shops, and moved on into this virtually uninhabited part of NE Finland. After Finmark's poorly surfaced roads, it was a delight to move at pace on well-maintained Finnish roads through the empty fell-land dotted with lakes and the sandy pine-forested heathland.

The Skolt Sámi settlement of Sevettijärvi and Church of St Triphon:  we passed several isolated dwellings with strange-sounding Sámi names, eventually reaching the outskirts of Sevettijärvi, the main Skolt Sámi settlement along this lonely road which we had visited on our way north 2 years ago (see our 2012 log). We paused at the little Eastern Orthodox church built originally in 1951 with Finnish reconstruction funds as a chapel for the Skolt Sámi who were resettled here after having been ejected from their traditional homelands in the Petsamo peninsula which was forcibly occupied by USSR in WW2. The chapel was dedicated as the Church of St Triphon of Petsamo in 1992, named in honour of the 16th century Orthodox monk who had travelled to Petsamo to convert the Sámi to Christianity and is known as the Apostle of the Skolts. Just behind the wooden church stood a memorial in the form of a log grave (grobu) with twin-bar Orthodox cross, dedicated to the deceased who had been left behind in Petsamo at the post-war enforced re-settlement. With flies and midges buzzing round our heads, we walked down to the graveyard to see again the lichen-covered Orthodox graves (see right) (Photo 15 - Lichen-covered graves). This year many of the sandy graves looked more neglected and the lichen covering rather care-worn; perhaps as many of the younger people move away in search of work, the Skolt Sámi residents are all getting older. The notice reminding visitors to close the churchyard gate to keep out reindeer was missing, so perhaps the lichen had been reindeer-nibbled. Many of the names on graves were Russian-sounding: Semonoff Tatjaana, Feodoroff Anton (born Petsamo 1926, died Ivalo 2002) (see above left), Feodoroff Mikko Nikita. It was a sadly depressing place, particularly with the thought of an entire people uprooted by war, resettled among unwelcoming local Inari Sámi and having to leave behind the graves of their relatives and ancestors. We drove on through the village, noting the turning to Peuralammen Camping; Sevettijärvi is another of our Very Special Places, and perhaps we shall return next year to camp here.

An overnight stay at Jokitörmä Camping, Kaamanen:  we continued our long drive with the afternoon sun now brightening the wilderness landscape and the road winding on mile after lonely mile. Sometimes it passed lakes glistening in the sun, sometimes stone and boulder fields, other places boggy fell-land or classically Finnish pine-forested sandy heathland. Route 971 is one of our favourite stretches of road, but this afternoon with the hour's loss on crossing into the Finnish time zone, the time was now approaching 6-00pm and we had to keep up a fast pace to cover the 90kms down to Kaamanen. Reaching the road junction, we turned north on Route 4/E75 into the scattered village of Kaamanen where again we were welcomed with smiling hospitality at Jokitörmä Hostel-Camping by the couple who for 17 years have kept this delightful campsite. All was as we remembered including the wooden crocodile carved from a dead tree trunk by the present owner's father who had founded the campsite. The camping area stretching along the banks of the Kaamasjoki river was quiet and we pitched part-way along. The evening was still partly sunny and sultry, perfect midge conditions with the surrounding water, and we had to cook supper with the slider closed and the Bagon on to clear the midges. It was good to be back in Finland and especially at Jokitörmä (see left).

Re-visit to Inari and Finnish food-shopping at Ivalo:  the following morning was overcast and midgy, but the unlimited hot water in Jokitörmä's showers felt ultra-luxurious after so many mean, coin-operated showers in Norwegian campsites. Although loose and twisted round, George's exhaust-box was still attached and today we should buy some wire in Ivalo to effect a temporary repair pending a permanent fix in Narvik. We departed at 11-00am, determined to return to Jokitörmä next year when we should visit the other Skolt Sámi re-settlement village of Nellim on the eastern shores of Lake Inari close to the Russian border from where they had been ejected just after WW2. We drove south on Route 4/E75 through the pine forests towards Inari passing a number of reindeer who ambled carelessly along the busy road (Photo 16 - Reindeer road hazard) (see right). We had first visited Inari 2 years ago (see our 2012 log) and this morning driving through we passed the excellent SIIDA Sámi Museum, the Finnish Sámi Parliament and Uruniemi Camping where we had first seen the Midnight Sun shining across Lake Inari. We continued beyond the village for the 30km drive down to Ivalo. This road gave attractive views out across Lake Inari; it was intriguing to think that the waters here would drain into the Pasvik River to flow along the Russian border past Øvre Pasvik Camping eventually to flow into Varanger Fjord and Barents Sea near to Kirkenes.

Reaching Ivalo, we turned off at the central roundabout into the Murmansk road (see left) and parked at the large S-Market. Here the inevitable crowds of Russian cross-border shoppers crowded into the supermarket for the cheaper, wider range of western food-stuffs and consumer goods than they can get at home in Putin's mighty empire. And a Russian band played in the foyer to entertain them. We also were on a cross-border shopping spree to stock up with Finnish food-stuffs and beers nostalgically recalled from our 2012 time in the country. We also managed to buy a coil of steel wire in the well-stocked hardware section for a temporary repair on George's exhaust pipe. Our trolley was filled with almost complete success, and remarkably the bill only came to €65. Supermarket shopping in Finland is such a joy: food is not only cheaper but of better choice and quality compared with culinarily impoverished Norway with its over-inflated prices and limited choice. With our Finnish shopping now complete, we returned to Kaamanen, pausing at the shell pock-marked memorial at the northern end of the village commemorating the determined campaign by Finnish light infantrymen in finally driving out the retreating German forces from Lapland in October 1944 (see right) (Photo 17 - Kaamanen WW2 Memorial).

Route 92 to Karigasniemi and Camping Tenorinne:  we turned off onto the cross-country Route 92 to head westwards over the broad swathe of high fell-land, totally uninhabited but for the occasional Sámi hut or fishing lodge. The road cut a straight course undulating across the empty terrain (Photo 18 - Fell-land road to Karigasniemi), boggy in places and pine and birch forested in others, the roadside lined with blue Harebells (see left). The afternoon was by now overcast giving the fell-land a gloomy desolate air; it took a weary hour to drive the 60kms over to Karigasniemi which we eventually reached to turn into Camping Tenorinne. We found a pitch down on the lower terrace overlooking the river, and at reception were again greeted with warmly welcoming hospitality by the Lehtosalo family who have kept this delightful campsite since 1966. When we had stayed here 2 years ago, we rated Tenorinne as one of the very best campsites in the whole of Finland (and we had stayed at 73 of them!), and the nightly charge was still only a very reasonable €22. We relaxed with our Finnish Laitilan beers watching the evening sun dipping along the river.

A relaxing day at Camping Tenorinne:  we woke to a mistily overcast morning for our day in camp here at Camping Tenorinne, and after breakfast Paul set to work with a tent peg, coil of wire and pliers to lash-up a temporary repair of George's rear exhaust box which had been shaken loose by Finmark's poorly surfaced roads and the stony, unsurfaced lanes of the Pasvik valley; it certainly couldn't be described as the neatest of jobs but would serve until we could get it properly fixed at the VW garage in Narvik. By late morning the sky had cleared giving a bright sun and without doubt the hottest day of the trip. It was delightful weather and our terrace in dappled shade was perfect looking out over the river from the top of the embankment steps where Twin-flowers flourished (Photo 19 - Camping Tenorinne) (see above right). After a productive and relaxing day in camp in perfect weather at such a homely and well-cared-for campsite, the barbecue was lit and we sat outside for supper on a beautiful evening, keeping the flies and midges at bay with anti-mossie coils. Finnish neighbours stopped by for a chat, showing no surprise that we knew of their home towns of Jyväskylä and Tampere; they are altogether a more likeable people than the stand-offish Norwegians. Late evening we walked down to the river bank to photograph the declining sun glowing along the length of the Inarijoki river which here forms the border with Norway (Photo 20 - Evening sun over Inarijoki river) (see left).

Crossing back into Norway at Karasjok:  as we woke to another sunny morning, the camper made a perfect hide to watch a perky red squirrel nibbling at meat remains on the cooled barbecue just outside the door (see right) (Photo 21 - Red squirrel). We sat out for breakfast on our sunny terrace looking out across the river bank to the forested hills of Norway opposite where we should return this morning. Our stay at Tenorinne had again been a memorably happy one, especially in such lovely summer weather; doubtless we should return next year. With farewells to our pleasant Finnish neighbours from Lapeenranta, we drove along to the K-Market supermarket in Karigasniemi village to top up our stocks of Finnish food-stuffs, and crossed the river-bridge border back into Norway (Photo 22 - Finnish~Norwegian border). Following the meandering, sandy Karasjoki river along the valley to the outskirts of Karasjok, we turned off to re-visit the village's old church, one of the few in Finmark that had survived German barbarism (Photo 23 - Karasjok old-church). A plaque in the churchyard set up by modern-day German nuns and seeking Norwegian forgiveness for war time atrocities did little to assuage German national responsibility for the multitude of crimes against humanity committed. Across the river and just along Route 92, we stopped to eat our lunch sandwiches by the Norwegian Sámi Parliament, the Sámidiggi which we had visited when last in Karasjok 2 years ago (see our 2012 log) (Photo 24 - Norwegian Sámi Parliament).

Across the Finmarksvidda to Kautokeino:  leaving Karasjok, we began today's long drive on Route 92 across the width of the Finmarksvidda. Initially following the middle valley of the Karasjoki river the road passed through very pleasant sandy heathland (Photo 25- Finmarksvidda), but beyond the confluence of the Lesjoki tributary, the terrain became wilder with birch scrub wilderness stretching away to distant horizons in all directions. Pausing by the river bank, we found the spectacular maroon star-shaped flowers of Marsh Cinquefoil; a member of the rose family, this flower is a rich source of nectar and we caught on photograph a bee feasting on the Marsh Cinquefoil (Photo 26- Marsh Cinquefoil). Along the upper Lesjoki valley, the road passed several now stagnant isolated ox-bows of the meandering river, and now began to gain height into the higher reaches of the easterly-flowing water-gathering area. With the road passing across vast plateau-land, we expected soon to reach the watershed but this colossal fell-land wilderness continued into the distance, draining a huge area into lakes which flowed down into the Lesjoki and Karasjoki valley. The map was indistinct making it impossible to determine a precise watershed on this endless flat fell-land plateau where many of the birches showed evident blackening damage from Autumnal Moth caterpillar defoliation. Eventually the watercourses became stagnant marshy areas, seeming to flow neither east nor west. But beyond a Sámi hut settlement the road began to loose a little height, a sign announced the crossing into Kautokeino Commune, and watercourses began to show evident westward flow, gathering into the elongated lake of Lahpojarvi. The road began to loose height following the westerly descending waters from the vast gathering grounds, and wound down to the junction with Route 93 coming in from Alta along the northward-flowing Alta-elva valley. Crossing the river, we turned south onto Route 93 following the line of the river which swelled into an elongated lake along the valley. The main road ran for 30 weary kms along the desolate fell-land valley eventually reaching the outskirts of Kautokeino. After a nostalgic pause at the Co-op shop and Kautokeino church, where 2 years ago we had witnessed a Sámi wedding with all the guests in their national costumes (see our 2012 log), we were greeted at Arctic Motel Camping by one of the younger family members. Prices this year had risen steeply to 270 NOK/night including showers, but we settled in at the turfed camping area in the hot afternoon sunshine, surrounded by the twin summer menace of swarming midges and rowdy Norwegian camping-cars.

Through Finland at Enontekiö into Northern Sweden at Karesuando:  on another hot, sunny morning we braved the midges to sit out for breakfast (Photo 27 - Arctic Motel Camping), and leaving Kautokeino headed south on Route 93 for the 30km drive along the river valley towards the Finnish border. The uninhabited wilderness of birch-scrub fell-land and stone-fields stretched endlessly to the horizon in all directions with just an occasional car passing us on this lonely road being the only other sign of life (see right). There was not even a reindeer to be seen. The winding road gained a little height to reach the border which lies along a low ridge forming the watershed between northward and southward flowing waters. Crossing into Finland once more, we continued south through deserted fell-land towards Enontekiö, with increasing numbers of shapely pines lining the roads as we reached lower ground. Reaching Enontekiö, we turned past the modern church to shop at the K-Market for our final Finnish food stock-up this year, before leaving the village through the endless pine forests to the junction with Route 21/E8 signed northwards for Kilpisjärvi and south to Nuonio and Tornio. We turned north following the Swedish border along the line of the Muoniojoki river, and passing scattered Sámi hut settlements, we drove in hot sunshine through these desolate pine and birch forested borderlands with just the occasional glimpse of the river, finally reaching the border bridge-crossing at Karesuvanto/Karesuando (Photo 28 - Crossing Karesuando bridge).

Sandlövs Camping at Karesuando:  crossing the bridge into Sweden, with Karesuando's wooden church standing tall across the river, we joined our old companion road from last year, the E45 Inlandsvägen at its northern terminus at Karesuando (see log of 2013 visit to Karesuando). This year we chose to stay at Sandlövs Camping just across the river at the Swedish end of the bridge facing Karesuando church. This small and charmingly simple campsite set alongside the owner's brightly painted wooden house looked across towards the bridge and Karesuando church. The owner's elderly wife welcomed us in Swedish, indicating for us to settle in and book in later; we selected one of the shadeless pitches with a delightful view across to the church (Photo 29 - Sandlövs Camping), and sat out in the early evening sunshine to relax with a beer. Our peace and quiet inevitably soon ended as the Norwegian monster-caravans and camping-cars rolled in with much noisy ado and offensive show of tasteless materialism. We stood it for as long as we could before retiring inside to cook our supper.

Early morning shopping at Karesuando:  we were awakened early by the hot sun and inconsiderate rowdiness of Norwegian caravans departing, fortunately restoring peace to the campsite and our view of Karesuando church. Even so breakfast outside was frustrated by the persistently swarming midges. Facilities at Sandlövs Camping were straightforward but adequate in fine weather, the family's hospitality was boundless, and the price excellent value at just 150 SEK. Karesuando, Sweden's northernmost village is blessed with 2 good campsites; we had enjoyed an equally hospitable stay last year at Karesuando Camping on the village's outskirts. The village also had a good range of shops: at Eliassons Kötthallen (meat-hall) we selected packs of reindeer and elk meat from the freezer cabinets; along at the filling-station-cum-general-stores (which promotes itself as 'vi har allt ... nästan' - we sell everything, well almost!), we rummaged through the Aladdin's Cave to find hardware we needed; and at the village mini-market, we bought nostalgically remembered Swedish foodstuffs. As we parked at the shops, a Norwegian family was just getting into their oversized, ostentatious 4WD, seeming the very embodiment of contemporary Norwegian society - grossly obese and disdainfully arrogant.

Across the uninhabited Northern Swedish tundra to Kiruna:  leaving Karesuando after another happy stay, we set off in bright sunshine on the first stage of today's long drive along the E45 Inlandsvägen. The road was well-surfaced and lined (see left) enabling us to maintain a steady pace across the uninhabited and endless birch-covered fell-land, the verges dotted with a few pines and fringed with the ubiquitous rose-bay willow herb. One lone reindeer grazed by the road-side, but these were clearly major reindeer herding lands since we passed 2 large areas of reindeer pens with ramps for lorry-loading. There was little traffic and boundless views across the never-ending tundra, utterly uninhabited until we reached the small, isolated settlements of Övre and Nedre Soppero set close by the wide Lainioälven river which drains these remote fell-lands of Northern Sweden. Just beyond, the trees lining the road changed to the distinctively tall, slender candle-spruces (Photo 30 - Candle-spruces) which have evolved this form to reduce the weight of winter snow load, very attractive forest land at which to pause for lunch in a lay-by (see right). A further section of road brought us to the crossing of the wide Torneälven, the main river draining down from Lake Torneträsk up at Riksgränsen which along with the Kalix River forms the main drainage of this immense and largely uninhabited stretch of northern tundra. We crossed the river into the village of Vittangi at the junction with Route 395 coming up from Pajala, and continued on the E45 to its junction with E10 at Svappavaara and the huge area of LKAB open cast iron ore mines. But here the good road surface ended: E10 was in total chaos, the surface entirely stripped and 10kms of road re-construction. We bumped along slowly in the queue of traffic among the diggers and bulldozers, passing an area of new mining which further eroded the Sámi traditional reindeer herding lands. Eventually clearing this long stretch of road works, our progress was slowed further by the less well-surfaced old E10 on the approach to Kiruna.

Re-visit to Kiruna and update on the city relocation:  we had visited Kiruna during our 2013 Swedish trip when we had learned all about the history of iron ore mining, the destructive impact of mining subsidence and consequent necessity for relocation of the town's entire central area (see log of 2013 visit to Kiruna). This year as we turned off the bypass into Kiruna, we passed an area of major construction signed 'New Kiruna'; clearly work had started since last year on the relocation of the city centre made necessary by mining subsidence. Driving into the town, we paused at the new shopping centre and the ICA hypermarket, filling our trolley with Swedish food items to see us through barren but expensive Norway. At the Statoil garage opposite, George had his fill of cheaper Swedish diesel. Up into the town with the enormous gash of the earlier open-cast mining looming ahead, we passed Kiruna city hall still standing, and turned off into the central square to get an update from the LKAB exhibition at the community hall on progress with the city centre relocation, expecting little progress from last year. Again the LKAB public relations girl responded fully and frankly to our questions with the aid of the updated city model: decisions had been made about the relocation site for the city hall and design now agreed for the new city centre with its associated residential areas of apartments. With open frankness she acknowledged that LKAB had learnt from their earlier public relations mismanagement over the relocation of Gällivare, with the result that here at Kiruna residents accepted the need for the move. We took copies of the latest LKAB annual report and thanked the girl for her update; Kiruna city centre relocation should be completed by 2016~17, so perhaps we shall return in 2018 to monitor progress! Before leaving Kiruna, we drove along towards the hill of Luosovaara for the photograph looking over the town towards the LKAB mine where trains of hopper-wagons stood in the sidings awaiting re-loading to transport iron ore pellets down to the coastal terminal at Narvik (Photo 31 - Kiruna iron ore mine) (see above left and right).

The Swedish~Norwegian border at Riksgränsen:  leaving Kiruna passing the railway station, we re-joined E10 for the further 160kms drive this afternoon towards the border at Riksgränsen. With the sun still bright, we followed the Malmbanen railway line westwards as an empty train of hopper-wagons returned from Narvik for re-filling with iron ore pellets from the Kiruna mines. We kept up a good pace heading towards the distant line of bulky mountains, and an hour's driving brought us level with the huge lake of Torneträsk where every picnic area was befouled by clusters of Norwegian camping-cars. There were also significant numbers of heavy lorries passing along this busy stretch of road into Sweden. Along the shore of Torneträsk, we reached the Abisko National Park Mountain Centre but there was no time to stop this afternoon (see log of 2013 visit to Abisko). Around through the avalanche/rock-fall danger zone under the broad shoulder of Njulla's mountain face, the road turned away from Torneträsk with the Malmbanen/Ofotbanen running high above us around the mountain sides through snow-sheds. Passing isolated Vassijaure, Sweden's northernmost station with its distinctive transformer tower where last year we had stopped to watch an IORE-hauled iron ore train, we headed towards the ski resort of Riksgränsen, ghostly empty during the summer, and hastened through to reach the border-crossing. The terrain changed with marked suddenness from the broad, open fell-lands of Northern Sweden to the craggy outcrops dotted with tarns and distant mountain peaks dropping down to the Norwegian coast. The road was now named General Fleischer Way in honour of the Norwegian wartime military leader, and passed a number of war-memorials to the battles bravely fought by Norwegian troops in May 1940 resisting the German invaders before their King, now safely ensconced in London, ordered the capitulation. A huge and unsightly wind-farm had been built on these craggy uplands since last year. The road descended a rocky defile, dropping steeply down to the road junction with E6 where we turned into Hærsletta Camping.

Hærsletta Camping:  Hærsletta Camping had been founded in the 1970s by the family of the present owners who greeted us in friendly manner. The mountainous setting with grassy albeit sloping camping area overlooked Ofotfjord with magnificent views looking down the fjord lit by the afternoon sun, and we settled in. Kautokeino had been the final night of the Midnight Sun period, and although Hærsletta Camping was still within the Arctic, it felt as though we had passed a significant time-watershed with the evening becoming quite dusky as the sun now declined across the fjord and disappeared behind a high shoulder of mountain side. The following morning as we sat over breakfast we re-examined Hærsletta Camping in the light of our experience of staying there. The campsite's position brought reliably predictable regular overnight passing trade from the north~south Lofoten/ Nordkapp run, and the family clearly was making a good steady income from this. But the site's generally old-fashioned air told its own story: it felt that complacency had crept in and the place simply had not kept pace with the times and expectations of modern-day campers. Facilities were basic, outdated and limited with no wi-fi or washing machine, and being set just by the junction of the E6 and E10, both busy roads, traffic noise was severe both morning and evening. While 30 years ago passing traffic would have been tolerable, unfortunately today's increase in traffic with frequent heavy lorries made noise levels appalling; it was like pitching a tent on the hard-shoulder of the M1. The one thing that had kept pace with the times were prices: 240 NOK including showers was simply poor value for such basic facilities with no wi-fi and such dreadful noise levels. It has to be said that Hærsletta Camping was a disappointment.

LKAB iron ore terminal at Narvik:  having re-filled George's fresh water, we departed to drive into Narvik. But the state of the E6's surface round to the Rombaks Fjord bridge was dreadful, and driving along the southern side of the fjord we discovered the reason for this neglect: a new bridge across the narrows of the mouth of Rombaks Fjord had just started construction. Generally speaking however, despite Norway's oil rich economic status, national investment in roads in the north particularly Finmark was far below that of Northern Sweden and Finland, both of course EU states. Into Narvik, first stop was the Tourist Information Centre at the railway station. We had hoped to visit Narvik's iron ore terminal which we had been unable to do last year (see log of 2013 visit to Narvik). The ultra-helpful TIC lad confirmed however that, as expected from earlier email correspondence, LKAB had suspended their conducted tours of the iron ore terminal this year because of work to extend the underground ore-pellet storage silos. He did however suggest the best position to view the terminal, from the 16th storey bar-terrace of the Rica Hotel, Narvik's tallest building. Armed with his helpful advice and a street plan, we drove down into the town and found street-parking opposite the Rica at the bargain price of 1 NOK/hour. Unfortunately when the hotel's lift reached the 16th floor, the bar was closed! Instead we drove around the new stretch of road beyond the railway tracks to the new shopping centre built on reclaimed industrial land by the ore terminal from where we could see clearly the demolition work to extend the LKAB ore silos and the sidings of hopper-wagons passing over to drop their loads of iron ore pellets into the storage silos (see above left). This year we were able to follow this road through the LKAB site back around to the E6 at the far end of Narvik's main street below the Nord Museum. Again the Museum terrace gave a perfect view over to the terminal where a bulk ship was being loaded with iron ore (Photo 32- Narvik iron ore terminal) (see right).

It was now time to turn our attention to George's damaged exhaust pipe, and we drove through the E6 Fagernes Tunnel to the industrial estates at the far end of the Beisfjord bridge eventually finding the Narvik VW agent. The mechanics however were all busy and recommended another firm back in the town who could help. We returned and found Nordikk Bil-service in a former railway workshop. The owner took a look, and assured us that our temporary repair would suffice until we returned to UK; the silencer was still secure and no exhaust fumes were escaping. He suggested further wiring to secure the rear pipe fully, and duly reassured, we thanked him for his help, topped up our supplies at a Kiwi supermarket and departed south. Narvik was a town we had come to regard with affection for its gritty practicality; who knows when we should return.

South on E6 to the Skarberget~Bognes ferry:  the E6 wound south around the fjord-side at Ankenes looking directly across Narvik harbour to the iron ore ship loading piers opposite (see left). Around the coast the road crossed the mouth of Skjofjord on a suspension bridge and continued along the shore of outer Ofotfjord to reach the larger settlement of Ballengen where heavy trucks passed through the heart of the village at a sharp turn. The road now turned inland gaining height across the shoulder of a broad peninsula and descending steeply on the far side to round the inner waters of Eifjord. Ahead the distant view was dominated by the magnificent twin peaks of Valletindan whose polished faces rose over 800m sheer. E6 crossed the narrows of Eifjord on a series of island-spanning bridges, and rising on the far side, the road gave even more intimate views of the twin peaks. Crossing rocky knolls beneath Valletindan's polished slab faces, E6 descended steeply to Ulvik and around the inner reaches of Tynfjord, ending literally at the ferry quay of Skarberget. From here an hourly ferry service carries all the E6 traffic across the mouth of Tysfjord to Bognes. A hazy sun now lit the mountains surrounding the enclosed fjord, as the 16-15 ferry drew in with an hour's worth of E6 traffic queuing at the dock, with us towards the back (see right) (Photo 33 - Skarberget~ Bognes ferry). But there were no concerns since the ferry absorbed all of these vehicles with space to spare. Entertained by the silly antics of Norwegian drivers who hustled to get one space ahead on the ferry for the 25 minute crossing, we stood on the upper deck looking out at the magnificent mountainous panorama surrounding Tysfjord (see left) with the distant snow-capped peaks of the Vesterålan Islands lining the western horizon.

A glorious evening at the shore-side Sørkil Camping:  from the landing at  Bognes, E6 wound its way over a high shoulder to descend steeply to the coast, and a few kms south, we reached tonight's campsite Sørkil Fjord-camping near to Ulsvåg. The small campsite was set directly along the shore-line looking out across the shallow waters of inner Presteidfjord to the distant Hamarøya peninsula. The owner was welcoming, the charge again was expensive at 250 NOK, but at least this included wi-fi and washing machine. We settled in along the shore-side to enjoy the afternoon sunshine and peacefulness before the inevitable hoards of camping-cars rolled in. Remarkably the evening air was midge-free despite there being little breeze, and we sat for supper of reindeer and lingonberry stew looking out across the bay (see left). Traffic noise from the nearby E6 was not unduly intrusive, tending to pass in convoys reflecting the arrival or departure of the Bognes ferry a few kms to the north. We sat out late into the evening as the sun slowly declined across the bay. 2 young boys fishing down at the water's edge made the perfect silhouette against the evening sun (see right) (Photo 34 - Sunset fishing) which finally set at gone 11-00pm behind the hill at the northern side of the bay (Photo 35 - Setting sun). By the time we turned in, the table top was wet with dew, a sign that even in late July the Nordic summer was passing.

E6 south over the mountains and aggressively intolerant Norwegian driving standards:  the sun rose above the spruce-covered hillside behind us in a clear sky to give another scorching morning. It was wonderfully peaceful to sit having breakfast in the warm sunshine looking out across the still waters of the bay and the line of Hamarøya's jagged peaks along the distant horizon (see right). Our shore-side camp on a warm, sunny morning made even washing-up a delight (Photo 36 - Shore-side washing-up). We had a long drive south today almost to Fauske, and passing the road junction at Ulsvåg where we had turned off to Skutvik for the Lofoten ferry 6 weeks and many adventures ago, we had completed our circuit of Northern Norway; there was a real feeling now of beginning the long return journey home. Climbing the steep hill beyond Ulsvåg up through the pine and spruce woods, we again paused at the viewpoint where on our northward journey we had got our first view of Lofoten's distant line of then snow-covered peaks. In contrast today the sky and sea were blue, the sun hot and the distant mountain peaks had lost almost all their snow (see left) (Photo 37 - Distant Lofoten peaks).

The road across the high pine and spruce forested terrain dotted with small lakes was truly delightful in the morning sunshine, but it was impossible fully to appreciate the surroundings because of aggressively intolerant Norwegian driving standards; it was clear that E6 was busier than ever on the lead-up to a peak holiday weekend. The road descended to the coast at Innhavet and just beyond Sagfjord we paused to re-photograph the Tømmerneset Palaeolithic reindeer engraving in better light than on the northward drive (see right). Around the shore of Rotvatnet, we began the long climb into what on the northward drive had been snow-covered mountains; today most of the snow was gone apart from on the high peaks, and water courses were dry. Views were magnificent in such grand mountain scenery (see below left) (Photo 38 - E6 south over the mountains), but holiday traffic and intolerant driving standards needed full attention with little chance to glance at the surrounding peaks. The road descended steeply to Mørsvikbotn and around the fjord head climbed again into a tunnel which curved through the mountain massif for some 5 kms to emerge into the high and imposing array of mountains overlooking Kobbvatn. E6 descended steeply through another tunnel to the head of Leirfjord where we paused at the Kobbelv Verthus tourist inn to investigate a WW2 Krigs-minne (war memorial) for the Russian POWs who died as slave labour in the unsuccessful German attempt to construct the Arctic railway line (Polarbanen) northwards beyond Bodø as far as Kirkenes. Wooden steps led down from the inn to the remains of the railway construction at the fjord shore below the Kobbelv waterfalls. But before descending the walkway, our attention was drawn to the wild berries growing in profusion on the sunny, south-facing embankment: here was a paradise garden of Bilberries ripe for picking, unripe green Bog Bilberries and the first Lingonberries seen this year, unripe Crowberries and Juniper Berries, but most spectacular of all ripening clusters of red Dwarf Cornel berries (Photo 39 - Dwarf Cornel berries). We were soon down on hands and knees photographing these beautiful berries as hoards of tour-bus passengers passed by looking gormlessly indifferent to their surroundings as usual. At the foot of the waterfalls, we found the incomplete remains of a tunnel mouth cut for a short distance into the rock face, and nearby remnants of concrete bridge abutments and foundations of a small HEP generating station. The tentative railway line's infrastructure had not progressed far north of Fauske, but how many Russian POWs had perished on this unsuccessful construction venture, we wondered.

Strømhaug Camping: a further series of tunnels brought E6 along the shore of Leirfjord, with signs pointing to more war memorials to Russian POWs whose lives were carelessly squandered by the Germans as slave labour during WW2. A longer tunnel bored through a headland was followed by a further series of shorter tunnels (see left and right) and an intervening bridge across the head of Sørfolda Fjord. But here today's aggressive and intolerant Norwegian driving standards reached their nadir compounded by viciously impatient overtaking and cutting in. Today we had finally become disenchanted with Norwegian arrogant behaviour, absence of manners, grotesque materialism, and aggressive driving standards, all of which inevitably became worse as we moved further south; it would have taken little for us to have cut our losses and return to more civilised Sweden. We were thankful to turn off into Straumen village to find Strømhaug Camping where we had stayed on our northward journey (Photo 40 - Strømhaug Camping). Despite being holiday season, there were few about and we settled into the same spot as before by the fast-flowing river. The hot, sunny weather of earlier had suddenly changed: a chill wind had whipped up and low cloud gathered fast filling the side valley with mist. Unlike last night we were glad to be inside tonight to cook a warming supper of Swedish Köttbullar (meatballs) in tomato sauce.

Fauske and south on the Coastal Highway:  low, misty cloud still clung to the surrounding mountains the following morning and the temperature was distinctly cooler. Today we should complete our southerly drive on E6 to Fauske and turn off westwards on towards Bodø again. During our period in the north where road tolls were non-existent, we had allowed our Autopass toll-contract to elapse, and now renewed it for a further 56 day period as we came south and should again encounter toll-roads. Our onwards route would take us along the picturesque Route 17 Coastal Highway (Kystriks-veien) starting near to Bodø with the mælstrom tidal-race of Saltstraumen. But that is all for the next edition which will be published soon.

Next edition to be published shortly

Sheila and Paul

Published: 3 January 2015

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