Sunday 29th July 2018
After enjoying a buffet breakfast in the visitor centre at Nordkapp, pre-paid, we packed up and began our journey in a southerly direction, in search of the Lofoten Islands. Our intention was to camp at Olderfjord over night.
It was another beautiful morning and the temperature was already in the high 20’s as we set off back along the main E 69.
Towing Kilometres – Today: 307 Cumulative: 20,298
The start of our journey was downhill and we were able to take in some fantastic views over the landscape including many lakes.
The town and port of Honningsvåg was a small detour from our route and we had every intention of popping there to visit the ice bar, but as the time was only 10.30 am we decided that we would save it for another appropriate time.
As we drove out of the Nordkapp tunnel we were greeted with the sight of a herd of reindeer in the water.
With every twist and turn of the road we were spoilt for views.
One of several traditional Scandinavian log houses with a turf or ‘sod’ roof. Popular up until the late 19th century.
If you are in Norway in the late spring you will often see these racks full of stockfish.
We were even luckily enough to catch a glimpse of the tips of several black dolphin fins, as they basked in the calm waters of the massive Porsanger fjord. Although not as lucky trying to photograph them 😉
Finally we reached the campsite at Olderfjord but after a short recce around be both decided that we would continue to find a more attractive site for the night.
We both knew that we did not want to camp in the Alta area, as it was too built up, so despite the huge miles of driving that Ray had already done during the day, we made our way around the shores of the massive Alta fjord, passing through several new tunnels, before eventually reaching Altafjord camping and calling it a day! We pitched up on the lower level overlooking the innermost end of Altafjord, called Langfjordbotn.
We intend to stay for 2 nights to catch up on chores and give Ray a rest from this driving duties 😉
As an aside, if you are a keen watcher of professional road cycling, then you may be interested in the Arctic Race of Norway, taking place between 16th August and 19th August 2018 and made up of 4 stages, covering 732 kms in Northern Norway. Even if you don’t get the chance to visit, it is televised.