Tuesday 21st August 2018
In 2012, Paul & I had left Geiranger via the ferry cruise to Hellesylt and very much enjoyed the experience. As it would avoid having to tow a near 1.5 tonne caravan out of the fjord Kim & I decided that this would be the way to go again. The cost for the one hour ride was a little eye-watering, 1580NOK, but we went for it anyway.
Towing Kilometres – Today: 89 Cumulative: 22,344
Our destination today was Melkevoll Bretun Camping.
I had read a review on ourtour.co.uk that described it as possibly the best campsite in the world and as it was very close to a glacier that we could walk to it seemed a good choice.
The ferry left bang on time and almost immediately we were cruising past the campsite and had a good view of the Eagle Rd winding its’ way up out of the fjord.
We continued along the fjord and soon passed by the famous Seven Sisters Waterfall. Although not flowing at its’ best at this time of year you could just about make out seven separate streams.
A short while later the daily Hurtigruten ferry sailed by on its’ daily visit into Geiranger. The scenery through the fjord is truly amazing and it’s impossible to convey the massive size of the place.
After leaving the ferry the road weaved its’ way through a long valley before turning southwest toward Stryn. We then followed along the northern shore of Innvikfjorden. This stretch is remarkably beautiful. Pulling over into a layby for a break we were treated to dolphins swimming nearby in stunningly blue water, with a cruise liner leaving Olden to give a hint of the scale of the remarkable sights available in Norway.
After passing through Stryn, Loen and then Olden, we turned left onto the FV724 which within a kilometre became extremely narrow in places with frequent tourist coaches returning from Briksdal Glacier coming in the opposite direction. Again we were treated to stunning views.
After a rather difficult, at times, 20km or so we arrived at the campsite. The pitches are on multiple levels set among grass roofed hyttes, and framed by mountains on three sides with glaciers and waterfalls. Fantastic. The facilities are excellent.
On arrival the young man in reception suggested that we had enough daylight left to visit the glacier so after a quick setup, we started out on the, at times, steep 45 minute climb up to Briksdal Glacier.
The walk is not too taxing with well made paths and there are troll wagons available during the day to carry you up most of the way if you don’t want to walk. Along the way there are waterfalls and streams of melt water from the glacier. There are signs along the way detailing where the glacier used to extend to and you can see just how much it has retreated over the years.
We waited around the lake for a while hoping to hear a large crack and see the glacier calve, but no such luck. Time to return to Melkevoll Bretun for some gin and tonic with a little man-made glacier in it 🙂