0340 Nordkapp to Tana Bru

27^th Aug 2015

Sunshine, Fjords, and reindeer.

What a delightful little campsite in Skarsvag, just a few kms from Nordkapp.  Friendly service, reasonable price (for Norway !), and excellent services – A great camp kitchen and dining room, excellent showers and toilets, and the best / fastest wifi we have seen in weeks.  Strongly recommend them.  We stayed up till after 1 am this morning catching up on blog, banking, phone bills, and other day to day needs.  When we woke up this morning at 8 am, the sun was shining and the skies were blue – Previous plans of finishing off the blog updates went out the window – When the sun is shining up here in the arctic, you get out and use it !

After a quick visit to the local village, we decided to go back the 13 kms to Nordkapp to see if it looked even better in the sunshine.  Not sure about better, but certainly different.  The sunshine up here changes everything instantly, and driving over to Nordkapp was certainly delightful – Lots of cars, cyclists and hikers stopping to take pics and make the most of the sunshine.  Ironically the bits that were in sun last night (ie the horizon) were now cloudy, while everything else above that yesterday had been cloudy were now blue sky !   We lloked over to the spit of land that is actually a few hundred feet further north than Nordkapp, (?), but as it is an 18 hour round hike to get there, few bother – Us included !  It was still cold, so after a few quick pics, we jumped in the car and headed back south. 

We saw large reindeer herds, and lots of blue lakes and the northern end of the Porsanger Fjorden, and then went through the long tunnel under the arm of the fjord to get off the island.  This tunnel descends to 220 m below sea level in order to get under the fjord, and there is a sign saying “Beware of fog in tunnel” – Yeah right, how can that happen ?!   Well, they were right – this time there was a thick fog right through the tunnel, with the warm moist air from outside mixing with the cold air inside.  Quite a spectacle. 

We then continued on down the side of the fjord to Lakselv where, instead of going south on the regular main road, we decided to go north on a smaller road through Silfar Canyon and Ifjord, towards Kirkenes.  The next herd of reindeer we passed on the road had one with its antlers all clear of velvet, but still red and a bit bloody with strips still hanging off.  For me it is really interesting to see reindeer with their antlers because in Alaska I was always there too early in the season for them to have grown a decent set of antlers.

We went through a short spell of cloud  and grey again, but before too long we were back out of it and heading back into the sunshine – It makes such a difference, not only to the scenery but also to one’s mental attitude – Everything seems so much better when the sun is shining !  We passed over some inland hills which were very rocky and barren, before dropping down again to the foot of the Lakesfjorden and more splendid views in the sunshine. 

These fjords we have been viewing up in northern Norway for the last few days are of course those where some of the German navy were hiding in order to creep out and attack the North Atlantic convoys – the Scharnhorst amongst them.  So there is a lot of history, wherever you look, and for me it is interesting to read of things that are only a vague memory for me from my history lessons !

After wandering along the foot of the Lakesfjorden, in and out of the fingers as they reach into the hills with steep sides and blue water and little villages perched on the sides, we then again went up to about 350 m ASL, crossing another body of land between fjords, and this one really was much more barren and wild, and very scenic.  It was almost like the Top of the World Highway in North West Territories in Canada, or the Andes in S America, almost enabling one to see the world.  The road was pretty bumpy, but they have done a lot of roadworks up there and are slowly making it into an excellent route across northern Norway.  I am sure everyone is getting fed up with photos of stunning blue fjords, views for miles, and reindeer everywhere, but I can assure you that driving through all this is simply superb – Far better and more interesting and more scenic than either of us ever imagined.

Eventually at Smalfjord we turned south towards Tana Bru, alongside a long narrow finger of the Tanafjorden that seems to go on for ever. But there is a lot of farming down in this valley, and quite a lot of trees, so you hardly get to see the fjord even though it is less than 50 metres away from the road. Suddenly we found a parking area which was just perfect for camping – Right beside the fjord, plenty of space, set well back from the road. So we drove in, had a great supper of fresh Norwegian salmon and local veggies, and got ready to turn in for the night.  There is a clear blue sky, and quite a strong wind as I write this (8 pm) and it is 7 deg C, so we shall be using the liners in our sleeping bags tonight !!  Tomorrow Kirkenes, right over on the Russian border, and then we will turn to head south through Finland.  

Pics are here :-   https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0340NordkappToTanaBru?authkey=Gv1sRgCISOhqbN99jgQg

https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0340NordkappToTanaBru?authkey=Gv1sRgCISOhqbN99jgQg