Saturday 4th to Sunday 6th August 2018

Our journey today would take us around the southern part of Hinnøya, from Harstad, following the E10, eventually joining the 85 and our destination, Gullesfjord, to stay at Gullesfjordbotn Camping.

Towing Kilometres – Today: 88 Cumulative: 20,938

As our journey progressed, the weather worsened and for most of the time, the landscape surrounding us was obliterated by driving rain and the tops of the mountains disappeared behind descending clouds.

We realised during our journey that we should have filled the car with diesel whilst still in Harstad, a much larger town, as we were now beginning to run low on fuel and we had yet to come across a filling station on our route! (Note to self for the future).

As luck would have it we spotted a brand new self service pump just off the roundabout where the E 10 meets the 85 and FV 103. Unfortunately for us and a few others, both pumps were out of order!

Only a short drive from here was the campsite, so we decided to head there first, set up and seek information regarding petrol stations at the site.

We were greeted by a very personable lady in reception, who gave us all the information we required in impeccable English regarding the campsite and who was shocked that the fuel pumps were out of order down the road, as they were brand new and only came into operation the day before!

The reception building was wonderfully warm, with homemade cakes on display, a cosy seating area with sofas, chairs and a TV, as well as a small restaurant.

The campsite owner informed us that the meal of the day, whale stew, would be available from 2 pm. Would we, wouldn’t we?

She suggested we headed back to Lødingen, about a 20 minute drive, where there was a filling station and a large supermarket.

True to her word, we found the filling station next to the ferry port (Lødingen to Bognes) and a large REMA 1000 supermarket. Fuel and supplies procured we had a quick drive around the harbour, where we came across a sports shop and an opportunity for Ray to purchase a fishing rod.

On our return to the campsite, with a new fishing rod, we decided that we would ‘try’ the whale stew. A controversial decision we know.

Neither of us had any idea how it would taste, but we were both pleasantly surprised. A thick meaty stew made with simple vegetables and a few boiled potatoes; a warming dish on a cold, wet, dank day.

The following day, the weather had improved and Ray was desperate to ‘get his tackle out’ should we say 😉 One of the things on his wish list for our trip to Norway was to catch a fish, prepare and cook it.

Ray had found co-ordinates for a fishing spot, located close to our campsite, courtesy of Jason at ourtour.co.uk and we headed off to give it a go.

A short drive brought us to the location, but unfortunately the area had become fairly overgrown and wasn’t an option anymore.

Not to be deterred, we continued our quest to find a suitable fishing spot. Our journey took us along Gullesfjord on the 83 road, all the way to Flesnes and the end of the road, where the ferry runs to Refsnes. (Foot passengers and cyclists are free). The road was in parts, very narrow, but there were frequent passing places along the road.

We were glad that we hadn’t opted to take the alternative route from Harstad yesterday, which would have brought us to this ferry crossing and the prospect of navigating this narrow stretch of road.

On our way back from here we took a slight detour west E 10, then 822  towards Sigerfjord and following the fjord road we continued our quest for the perfect fishing spot.

Unfortunately other than enjoying the views we were unsuccessful on this occasion. Another day perhaps 😉