To mix things up, it was time to hit the air and head over the water for a kayaking and hiking adventure in Norway. Our flights are not as early this time, so it was an easy trip to Gatwick to catch an onwards flight to Stavanger, Norway.
Our guide and tour picked up from the airport and we joined a friend/family group from the UK for the next three days traversing the local fjords.
Our first night was in a lovely camping hut on the Hogsfjorden, which was just a stunning place to be introduced to Norway.
Our day started (not as bright and early as it could have) with setting up our kayaks, repacking our gear into dry bags and learning how to master kayak skirts and life vests. While we were waiting for this side of the business to begin, we observed some early morning fishermen hauling up their catch. Just the night before, Kylie and I had been standing on the dock wondering what the box net next to us would catch….. little did we know that very shortly we’d be about to have an encounter with the box net (the answer to what they caught in them remains unsatisfactorily unanswered!).
The fishermen hauled up to the dock, much to our interest, because we thought we were about to find out what fish they were catching and stormed down the dock. A flurry of Norwegian was directed at myself and one of the other ladies on our tour…..
“In English?” We asked.
A very flustered fisherman then proceeded to ask what had we done with his fish and his net?
“Nothing, we just got here, but there was a net on the dock at 5:30pm yesterday, could that have been yours?”
“So you know nothing about the fish?”
“No, we’re on holiday, we just got here”.
“Well, that’s disappointing, I was really looking forward to yelling at you all” sighed the fisherman. You could see his shoulders drop as he visibly deflated. He ambled dejectedly down the dock back to his boat.
We stifled the urge to laugh at how politely he’d “come down” from his rage, to once he’d restarted his boat and putted away. I guess some poachers had pinched his net and his catch, so that’s very frustrating for him, made all the more frustrating by not getting a good yell in at some pesky tourists to vent the frustrations!
After the fisherman incident, we jumped in the kayaks and headed off down the fjord, headed for Lysefjorden. I was reminded pretty quickly that there’s a fair bit about kayaking that sucks and also that my upper body strength is terrible!!!
Fjord life is stunning however, as we ambled along, life took place around us. Supremely fit Norwegians overtook us in their own kayaks, locals flitted from dock to dock in their outboards (we dreamed up dinghy Uber eats) and the local car ferry gave us a wide berth. All the while, the tall cliffs of the fjord stretched out before us in tall majestic grandeur.
Our “wild camp” for the night was very civilised and was to be our base for the next two nights. Because we were travelling with crazy poms and Kylie has acclimatised, it was apparently swim time… it was freezing! I got in… in was refreshing, bracingly so… and then I was out and hunting for a smooth black rock to stretch out on like a seal to thaw out and warm up on.
The following day we were up early to head over to Preikestolen to hike the famous rock and get the most famous view of Lysefjorden.
I’ve been to many busy tourist places before, but hiking Preikestolen was like peak hour traffic on Mount Everest. It did feel shoulder to shoulder at times! Still the pictures speak for themselves.
Preikestolen itself was amazing, but could certainly bring on some serious cases of “edge-itis” or vertigo!
Our last day on tour was spend heading down a glass like Lysefjorden to view Preikestolen from the base. It was really delightful to be kayaking on such smooth water. That being said, I was quickly reminded of my lack of upper body strength!
While we were kayaking we saw seals and waterfalls and troll faces in the ancient rock faces! Our local guide Sandra always seemed to have a stash of chocolate, but mostly because she wanted to eat it I suspect!
It was a short and sweet visit to Norway and has definitely whet the appetite to see more of this mysterious and stunning country.
But for now, it’s time to return to the UK and for the baton to be handed from Kylie to my great travel buddy Lesley for a hit of hiking and camping through Wales and Scotland.
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