0320 Hardangervidda to Kinsarvik

5^th Aug 2015

Sun, rain, and a big fjord.

Next morning when I woke up at 7 am it was an almost clear sky, and the photos show how different it was from the night before – I could hardly believe the difference.  But clouds were rolling in fast, and fairly soon I had to tell Janet to come outside to see the view because it looked as though it could be raining again soon ! By the time we set off an hour later, it was totally overcast again, although not yet raining.  A few kms up the road we found a big dam with a parking area beside it – With several campers there who had obviously been there overnight – But I preferred our spot up in the wilds ! Below the dam were lots of small cabins which would have been in real strife if the dam ever burst !  Whether they were winter or summer cabins I am not sure, but there were plenty of them dotted around the countryside. 

In Maurset we saw a new apartment block which had sod roofs – The first time we had seen this kind of roof on a new building.  Then we came to a big parking area and signs to some falls – Voringsfossen – so, without knowing what was there, we walked up the little trail to have a look.  And found these amazing falls that have a 182 m free fall – And more than one fall, with one on the left and a bigger one partially hidden from the first viewing point on the right.  The cliffs are sheer and in one of the photos I went and stood on the edge of the cliff while Janet took a photo, just to show the steep drop.  At one stage Janet wasn’t too impressed, and wanted me to give her the car keys just in case !

We then went round to another view point down the road, before having a look in the souvenir shop – But several big tourist coaches had now arrived and it was getting a bit crowded, so we left.  Just a couple of kms down the road we went into a tunnel and the road just seemed to keep turning right for ever – I was certain we had gone round more than 360 degs !   Fortunately we were also going down hill steeply, so we didn’t crash into our own tunnel, and after a hairpin bend while still in the tunnel, we eventually came out into the open air again at the Mabo Bridge, where we pulled over for a look at this amazing road system.

Mabo Bridge was originally built in 1910, with the circular Storegjel tunnelen being built in 1980.  Roads are not easy to build in Norway because everywhere is solid rock that needs blasting to remove, and that just makes the many tunnels and passes all the more amazing. 

When we were just about to leave the Mabo Bridge car park, we noticed so clouds coming up the valley VERY quickly – changing even as we stood there for a few seconds.  Very eerie  !  We then descended down steeply for 20 minutes or so, back     

down to sea level, with the wispy cloud starting to increase in the valleys, and waterfalls on every side, dropping from the plateau above.  We drove through the Stiganestunnelen towards Eidfjord – And suddenly found a great big cruise ship in front of us !  Very odd after being in the mountains just a few minutes earlier !

We came into this very pretty little town, and decided to turn right instead of left, and follow a small road up to the very end of the Hardanger Fjord.  This narrow little road followed the edge of the flord, with steep

slab sides mountains rising sharply on our right, and reflections of the cloud and the mountains in the fjord on our left.  A beautiful little drive for about 10 kms until the road finally came to an end at a house, and then we made our way back to Eidfjord.  Trees along the waterfront were wrapped in woolen jackets – To keep them warm in winter ??!!

It was then  on down the side of the fjord until we came to our destination, Kinsarvik. Not only was this a good stopping place for us, but coincidentally the parents of our son Nicholas’ Dutch girlfriend Tanja are on holiday in Norway at the moment, and were scheduled into Kinsarvik at the same time as we were passing through !   We have never met Jos and Ricky before, so this was a great way to meet them at last.  We checked into the camp site where they had booked a cabin, and we got the most magical site, backed onto the fjord, so the view was stunning.

At about 5 pm Jos and Ricky arrived, and after some drinks over at their cabin we went down into the village for dinner together, and enjoyed a really pleasant evening getting to know each other. Eventually we walked back up the hill to the camp site and turned in, with the promise to meet again for breakfast on the verandah of their cabin.  

Photos here :-  https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0320HardangerviddaToKinsarvik?authkey=Gv1sRgCID0q_-H66GcFw