Nordkapp Adventure (2 Viewers)

[flatpackchicken]

Bump for those members that want to follow this post, Regards Garry Flatpackchicken

 

[Sundowners]

bump

 

[Snowbird]

Have you done any serious fishing as yet . No photos of 25 kg cod or halibut as yet.
Hope your not just sitting around up there like tourists doing nothing . Get out in one of Torbians boats. The last photo was taken at the same rapids that you went past :thumb:

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[Chockswahay]

How long for?

Hi Guys, your trip sounds fantastic! (nice piccies).

May I ask how long you are on this trip ? I am quite envious and wondering if I should 'bin' the Hebrides next month and go 'proper North'

 

[Sundowners]

Hi Guys, your trip sounds fantastic! (nice piccies).

May I ask how long you are on this trip ? I am quite envious and wondering if I should 'bin' the Hebrides next month and go 'proper North'

We have not got any set dates, it is open ended. You can travel a lot in a day as the roads are good, obviously the more mountainous the slower it becomes and also depending on the size of vehicle, if you are over 3.5 tons you are restricted to 48 mph in Sweden or 42 in Norway, they are very hot on speeding, in Norway the penalty is gaol, so we have been told.

There are some Germans parked with us and they are away for 4 weeks and have already driven up through Sweden into the top of Finland up to Alta in Norway, had planned to go to Nordkapp but had trouble with their gas heating, so came to Flakstadvag camping earlier than planned to do some fishing knowing they would be on hookup, they still have a couple of weeks left.

We only travel between 4 and 6 hours a day. We are leaving here tomorrow and are heading north, then we will be making our way back south through Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and then home.

We can't praise Sweden enough, we will definitely be back. Long trip up to the North of Norway, going into Norway in the south and travelling up that way works out very expensive with all the road tolls and ferry crossings - we have been told ferry crossings are double if your van is more than six metres in length.

Our ferry crossing from Travemunde in Germany to Malmo in Sweden cost us one way €100 for a 9 hour day crossing. Wildcamping is the norm. you can feel safe, but don't become too complacent especially around bigger towns, so this saves a lot of cost on your trip if you normally choose campsites.

Not sure when we will get internet again so the offer of further info. might be dependant on wifi access, but we will help when we can. MHF member Vera is also a mine of information, they were on their way back we think last time we heard.

Enjoy whatever you decide.

Nigel and Pamala

 

[Chockswahay]

Hi Nigel and Pamala,

Many thanks for your comprehensive reply. I am envious and just need to work out a cunning plan

Have a ball, it all sounds quite fantastic

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[Sundowners]

Have you done any serious fishing as yet . No photos of 25 kg cod or halibut as yet.
Hope your not just sitting around up there like tourists doing nothing . Get out in one of Torbians boats. The last photo was taken at the same rapids that you went past :thumb:

Unfortunately, fishing no good. Even the locals and experienced aren't catching anything, so it's not just us. A few small ones have been caught by Garry and Nigel, but had to throw them back. Even people hiring the boats and spending hours out are coming back with nothing.

So as much as we love the place, we have decided to head off north tomorrow and seek fish at another beautiful spot.

The old fellow is not running the campsite now, it's run by his son. Not interested in bartering if you know what I mean.

Not sure when we'll get internet next. Til next time.

Nigel and Pamala

PS There's Europe in that there blood, through and through.

 

[Snowbird]

Unfortunately, fishing no good. Even the locals and experienced aren't catching anything, so it's not just us. A few small ones have been caught by Garry and Nigel, but had to throw them back. Even people hiring the boats and spending hours out are coming back with nothing.

So as much as we love the place, we have decided to head off north tomorrow and seek fish at another beautiful spot.

The old fellow is not running the campsite now, it's run by his son. Not interested in bartering if you know what I mean.

Not sure when we'll get internet next. Til next time.

Nigel and Pamala

PS There's Europe in that there blood, through and through.

That sounds bad all round. No fish, No Torbian to trade whiskey with. If no fish are being caught at Flakstadvag, there are no fish to be had anywhere. Take your time and keep me posted, have a great trip.

 

[Sundowners]

Nordkapp Adventure 5

We left the Island of Senja last Saturday, a couple of days earlier than planned. The fish weren’t biting, the fog came down and the weather was going to change, so we decided to hit the road again. After we went through the tunnel the sun shone, must be because we had left the coast.

We were on our way to Alta, mainly to fill up with bottled gas, as this was to be the last place before we head into Finland on our main journey south. We visited another on the way, just to get the co-ords and to check out what type it was, couldn’t fill up as it was closed (weekend again). We decided to take a detour into Finland (60 mile round trip) to fill up with fuel and stock up the larder. Diesel is 32p cheaper per litre than we were to pay further along. It was a lovely road to drive and we found a glorious picnic spot to camp overnight. We were stopped by customs on the way in – had run out of potatoes, but bought some new. Thankfully they didn’t ask about these on the way back in. Potatoes are so expensive in Norway £6.48 for 2 kgs. Bread is £3.36 for an uncut wholemeal loaf. We were determined not to do too much shopping in Norway especially at these prices and we were going further off the beaten track where we knew prices would not get any cheaper.

We filled up with gas at Alta then headed for Hammerfest, a town frequented by Nigel back in the 60’s during his hitchhiking days, he didn’t remember any of it. Our next destination was to be Nordkapp. Driving the road north it seemed to take forever to get there, the road was winding, narrow and undulating right next to the sea. Once again some stunning scenery. It was time to find somewhere to camp and we came across a lovely picnic spot right next to the sea, somewhere where Garry could throw in a line. His luck was in and he caught 4 lovely fish, one we couldn’t identify and the others were cod. Once gutted, heads taken off and ready for grilling there was over a kilo, so we had a good feast on those the next night as we had already eaten before he got his catch. A couple of other motorhomes joined us. The traffic seemed very busy and loads of coaches of tourists went past, we found out that they all try to get to Nordkapp to see the midnight sun. We met some British people the next day and they told us that there were over a thousand people around the Nordkapp Globe at midnight. It was a bit breezy that night but it kept the mozzies at bay once again, but not so in the morning, the sun was shining, it was a very still day, but the mozzies were out in there millions. Out came the spray, but not before they had their little feast on us.

We reached Nordkapp after a never ending winding road, it just seemed to go on and on and on. We knew there was to be a charge to get to the furthest point (which to be exact is not the true furthest point north in Europe), and we also heard that it was just a rip-off, so we made a unanimous decision not to go past the paying kiosk to go another 250 metres or so and to turn around and make our way back down the long winding road again with spectacular views along the way.

It was around time to find our night spot and it so happened we were at the same place we stopped the night before. Unfortunately, there were already motorhomes parked up for the night, however just across the road was another pull-in still with lovely sea views. The fish caught the previous night were cooked on the grill outside, but the mozzies were atrocious, so we retreated indoors to eat, whilst eating we saw an animal wandering around a grassed area, not far from us, as it got nearer and turned sideways we saw that it was an arctic fox with a lovely bushy tail.

We were trying to get back down from Nordkapp without having to fill up with diesel as it was now £1.69/litre, Garry had a spare jerry can with him and he used that rather than pay these prices and we felt we could make it to the next garage down without putting any more in. We had planned to take another detour into Finland from a different route before travelling some more in Norway, but we wouldn’t reach that border crossing for another 200 miles. We both made it to the next garage and put in just enough to get us to Finland.

We took the most northerly route across the top, again beautiful terrain, but the roads we very slow due to the frost damage again. A lot of times we could get to our legal max. of 42 miles an hour but then you come across these nasty dips in the road and they do not suit our camper suspension, you have to be so careful, you do have a bit of warning as trucks have left their tyre marks, but sometimes they crop up on you, especially when the sun is low and the shadows are across the road when they get hidden. We camped up that night ready for the border crossing the next day, 24 miles away.

There were no customs, you could just drive straight through, so we knew we would be OK for our potatoes. Stocked up with fuel (£1.38/litre) and food, we headed back into Norway, this time making our way to the most northerly city in Europe – Vardo.

We have decided Garry should change his user name on the forum from Flatpackchicken to Flatpackreindeer, no kidding he has come close to hitting half a dozen at least. We have been convoy leader all the way with Garry, Tail End Charlie, we have walkie talkies and we warn him when we can, that they are on the side of the road, they very rarely run out in front of us, but for some reason they make a beeline for his motorhome, this even happened in Sweden with a moose, we know when it has been a close call as we can see the blue smoke from his trailer tyres in our rear view mirrors. We have actually seen one on the roadside that someone had hit, it’s surprising we haven’t seen more.

We also saw a sea eagle, a bit more wildlife to add to the list, it’s getting better.

We had almost reached our destination point on the satnav, but couldn’t see any sign of a town, but caught sight of a lot of houses on an island to the right of us. We thought it might be Vardo, but couldn’t understand how we were to get there as there was no sign of a bridge. On coming round the corner we saw a sign for a tunnel and then realised that we were to go through the tunnel under the sea to reach it the same as we did to get to Nordkapp. This one was 4km long and had a long descent and the other was 7 km. It seems really strange driving down a 10% gradiant and then up again to reach the other side, both these tunnels are toll free, the Nordkapp one used to be quite expensive to go through.

We have been parked on the harbour side now since yesterday and will be staying another night before heading north (picking up the internet from the tourist information office nearby) . It’s been very interesting on this trip, learning just how much World War II affected this country. In a couple of days time we are visiting a village that was the only village to survive destruction by the Germans as they retreated burning everything in their way. Hardly any buildings have been left standing but this village still has buildings from before that era.

We are looking for a spot to camp for a few days as we have to waste a few waiting for the Russian market at Kirkenes next Thursday. We need to find somewhere with fresh mountain water running by so that we can do a bit of washing and we have been promised some sunshine for the next few days to get it dry.

So here’s No. 5 – until No. 6 – keep smiling.

Nigel, Pamala, Garry & Chris

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[Sundowners]

Trying to post some pictures - so here's hoping.

 

[Sundowners]

Still trying - got the one of Garry and Chris wrong somehow - try again

 

[Sundowners]

Saved as image not thumbnail - did them all exactly the same - can anyone tell me where I went wrong?

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[Onderweg]

Hi Nigel, Pamala, Garry & Chris

Flatpackreindeer, no kidding he has come close to hitting half a dozen at least.

This is not what we meant when we told you you would certainly meet reindeer further north

We have been to the coast of Norway near Osen meanwhile and caught a lot of fish in the little sundet (Cod, haddock and pollock) We stayed there a couple of days and only took 2 fish with me each day but still got a lot of fish in the freezer, the remainder is back in the water for the next fisherman

We are now near Dorotea and will be heading for the Baltic sea

Have fun on your trip south again

Your former shadow
Paul and Ineke

 

[Snowbird]

Am missing it so much. You are doing it the way it should be done. I cant tell you how much the post and the photos mean to me. Many thanks to you all.

 

[JockandRita]

As usual, a smashing blog of your Nordkapp Adventure. :thumb:

It certainly gets the imagination working, mentally visualising routes, scenery, and wildlife, etc.

Thanks for keeping us all up to date. Nigel, Pamala, Garry & Chris. :thumb:

Stay safe all.

Jock & Rita.

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[Pat4Neil]

It does sound like your having a great time, fantastic scenery and some success with the fishing.

stay safe for the rest of the journey

Pat and Neil

 

[alfandM]

HI Nigel, Pamela,Garry & Chris, Have sent you a return PM ref to visit us, have you received it OK,Regards Alf.

 

[alfandM]

bump:thumb:

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[Sundowners]

Nordkapp Adventure No. 6

Spent a couple of nights alongside the harbour at Vardo, before heading north to visit a village that was left unscathed during World War II. On the way we found a lovely little spot by a river with very clear running water coming down from the mountains. Ideal spot to catch up on some washing, wash the camper and everything else we could using the clean water from the river. There was a lovely warm wind blowing, good for getting the washing dry and keeping the mozzies away. We spent two nights there, before heading back in the direction of Kirkenes driving beside the fjord hall the way.

We took a detour into a small fishing village, Bugoynes, which was recommended by the lpg man at Alta. Again driving along the other side of the fjord. We found a parking spot for the night, but was told it would not be a good idea to park there as it was a turning point for large trucks coming to the King Crab processing plant, another place was suggested overlooking the harbour, on grass and guess what, free electric. We also hooked up to the local internet. We were trying to lose some days as we were waiting for the Russian market on the Thursday, so we decided to stay two nights, wouldn’t you with free electric.

We left there on Wednesday morning and got to Kirkenes about lunchtime, spoke to the guy in the tourist office to make sure the market was going to be on, (which it was) , then headed for the furthest point of Norway right on the Russian border. Diabolical road, a lot of road works and the road was really rough, it took us two hours to do 34 miles, a bit quicker coming back. You are not allowed into Russia, the countries are split by a small stream with the border being in the middle of the stream. We were so close but couldn’t get there. We spent that night in Kirkenes, near to the market square ready for the morning.

Bought some goodies, was hoping to sample some food, but no stalls of that nature were there. Before heading out of town we went to the small aire they had set up by the quay. First one we have seen since leaving France/Germany – a very good dump point as well for black tanks.

Emptied and filled we left town now heading for Finland, only 25 miles away. We had some Norwegian Kroner left and spent them in Finland stocking up with goodies.

Unfortunately, the fuel was card only so couldn’t use the Kroner for fuel.

We have been really disappointed about the amount of wildlife here, you see many reindeer on the roads, but we don’t really count that as wildlife and also not much birdlife either.

We have covered 200 miles today and ended up at a place called Kitilla on our way to see Father Christmas at the Arctic Circle about 90 miles away. We drove on about 50 miles on an unpaved road and it was spitting with rain, so as you can imagine our truck and camper got filthy. We have ended up in a cafe using their internet and have had our first meal out since we left the3 ferry terminal in Germany. It’s been so expensive to eat out – the best we have seen is a hamburger and chips for the equivalent of £15.00 each, so we have refrained. Tonight we had chicken and chips with tea and coffee for €15.00 for two.

We hope to meet up with Swedish Funster AlfandM in a few days at their house. Really looking forward to that.

We were planning to go straight down Finland and cross over to Estonia and drove through Poland on our way back, but our plans have changed since reading the issues on MHF, we want nothing to spoil our trip, we have had such a brilliant time, that we decided those places can wait until they get themselves sorted, so back through Sweden we will go. We loved that country and they seem to be so set up for motorhomes, we don’t mind driving through it again.

So here is the next instalment, until next time, we will keep enjoying this lovely warm weather we are having. We don’t mind a spot or two of rain, it lays the dust so Garry can see where he is going.

All the best
Nigel, Pamala, Garry and Chris

 

[mitzimad]

sounds like your having a fabulous time im enjoying it with you

 

[Snowbird]

Hi you lot. Sounds like your having a great time. If the Santa village is Rovaniemi you will enjoy even though its a bit touristy. Send the family Christmas cards from the post office.

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[JockandRita]

Great stuff, and looking forward to the next instalment.

Stay safe Nigel, Pamala, Garry, and Chris. :thumb:

Cheers for now,

Jock.

 

[Onderweg]

Hi Nigel, Pamala, Garry, and Chris

Your former shadow has arrived home today. Safe and sound :thumb:
Sweden is great to travel and give our regards to AlfandM, we were close to his home i think but without internet :Blush:

Have fun on your way back

Paul and Ineke

 

[Destination Unknown]

Loved the photos and you all seem to be havin a great time. Look forward to the next episode.

Take care and travel safe

Brian and Chris

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[Sundowners]

Nordkapp Adventure 7

First couple of days travelling in Finland great, second night not so great. We had parked up for the night in a car park opposite the cafe where we had internet, along with millions of mozzies. No kidding, we woke in the morning to find that we were almost infested with the little blighters. How they got in we will never know, they were everywhere and the skylight that we have open at night with the Maxair, it was full of them. Garry and Chris’s was the same. We had been warned about the mozzies in Finland, but surely not this soon, they could’ve let us eased our way in. The next night we found a lovely spot by another river, the sun was really hot and it was muggy. During the night a big storm and plenty of rain. The terrain we were parked on looked OK, but the puddles soon began to develop and not taking any chances, Garry made an early escape to what we thought might be firmer ground. No probems, but we didn’t want to take any chances. We were OK with our 4x4 but it would have been a shame to have to pull Garry out, especially after we had had trouble free driving so far.

That day we headed for Boden in Sweden where there is a nuclear bunker it was built by the Swedes to protect them against the Russians. Don’t know if any of you have seen Henry Cole on The Worlds Greatest Motorcycle rides, well he visited this bunker on one of his programmes and it seemed really interesting, so whilst in the area, we gave it a visit. Didn’t do the tour as it was 1 and a half hours long and we had just missed the beginning of one. Had a good look around that and a visit to a military museum nearby before making our way southwards across country rather than heading for the main E4 where we could hit a lot of traffic, didn’t think much to that after having travelled on such lovely almost traffic free roads.

Unfortunately, to save time we had to eventually get onto the E4, and wouldn’t you know it, it was Sunday evening and traffic was horrendous in parts, hit our first traffic jams since Germany. Must have been an American car show on somewhere as they were streaming in abundance in the opposite direction to us. All oldies as well. There are a lot of them in Scandinavia, we have been told that if they are over 25 years old, they are tax free. We had considered going to the biggest American Car Show here, but camping nearby was £75.00/night and that did not include the entrance to the show, which was also not cheap, so as you can imagine decided to give that a miss.

We thought we would try and find a camping spot by the sea, mainly as the mozzies are not so prevalent there. We had in our minds to turn off on a little road to the left, but it turned out to be the wrong one, never mind we will see where it would lead us. It was an unpaved road and it went on forever through the short pines trees, came to a fork and took a left, turned out to be a dead end. Almost gave up but decided that as we had come this far we would see where the right fork took us, told Garry to stay where he was and we would see if it led to anything. Only after a few hundred yards we reached the sea and found a lovely spot on very small peninsular, just enough room for the two of us to park up for the night. Got on the walkie talkie and got Garry and Chris to ‘COME ON DOWN’.

It was such a lovely spot that we stayed there til after lunch the next day. We would have stayed longer but we had been in touch with AlfandM and had planned to arrive at their place on Tuesday and we still had nearly 400 miles to cover. Back on the E4 but not for long as we took a turn off to drive across country again.

Just thought we might mention that when filling up with fuel, as foreigners, we are limited to SKr500 (equivalent to nearly £50.00) on our cards and some garages will only accept cards, as you can imagine this can be a pain, especially when travelling big mileage daily. But one good thing is you can almost guarantee a water supply at the garages and they are more than happy to let you fill up.

It was great being back on the country roads again, we found a beautiful spot to camp again, gorgeous views over open countryside, albeit a large layby, verges were covered in many different types and colours of wildflowers. Good job we were on hardstanding as we had another terrific storm in the night. One clap of thunder shook our camper and that is no lie.

We stocked up on food and water before arriving at AlfandM’s place(Alf and Marianne). Enough place for us to camp on hardstanding and what a lovely welcome we had. Couldn’t want for a nicer couple to make us feel at ease, they are typical Funsters, and we have now made them official by giving them a Funster sticker. So much to chat about and we have found their ideals are much on the same wave length as ours. We didn’t want to overstay our welcome and after going to see a couple of wildcamping spots nearby we decided to head for one, especially as Garry could get his rod out again. We went to the local village to fill up with water and more provisions before heading to a glorious spot by a river. We soon set up and made ourselves at home, getting the fire going,and boiling water for washing etc., not forgetting that the kettle is always on the fire for a cuppa too.

AlfandM gave us a tour of their place and was proud to show us their 1983 Mercedes 309 motorhome that they have lovingly restored and is their pride and joy.

Well Garry has finally been lucky with his fishing, he has caught about 8 Perch since being here, well worth wait at such a lovely spot and Chris made a fabulous job of cooking them this evening, what a way to end our stay at this peace of heaven. Is it Arnie who says ‘I’ll be back’, no not only Arnie, us too. We can’t praise Sweden and this area enough.

We believe that for motorhoming, Sweden has to be tops, and as some of you know we have been to many places, and now that the costs here are not prohibitive as in the past, it is well worth a visit. Diesel is on a par with English prices and food much the same too, some things even cheaper, and not forgetting we have had fantastic weather, yes a couple of storms and a drizzle or two, but that is all, whether or not we have been lucky, it doesn’t matter to us, we have had such a brilliant time. It will be sad to say goodbye to AlfandM, and their cat and dog, but at least they have been able to meet some Funsters in the flesh, and who knows perhaps one day they will be able to get to the UK for a Funster meet.

Tomorrow we leave this lovely place and head south for the ferry to Germany, about 650 miles to go, not booked it yet, cause who knows where the road might take us. That is what travelling is all about.

Will be posting this on Alfs pc before saying our goodbyes.

Til next time folks

Nigel, Pamela, Garry & Chris

 

[JJ]

Brilliant reports... thank you for them.

JJ :Cool:

 

[Snowbird]

Super reports as always. You are sure having a great trip :thumb:

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[bobandjanie]

You are getting our taste buds going Pamala, glad you are still having a great time and not going hungry, lucky Garry is good with his rod.

What a shame about the American car show, I thought the Americana shows here are a rip off, must be an American thing.

Love reading your blog and great pictures, safe trip and will have to meet up when you get back, we went to Rutland a couple of weeks ago, very nice but not the same without the Nordkapp Gang there. :thumb: Bob and Jane.

 

[alfandM]

it was great to have you all stopping by, a great time had by ,even Bamse Boy and Mirrormons, and most of all Marianne and Me,great food and nature barbs,and Garry's fish catch cooked by chris Portuguese style , so its not good bye, its until we all meet again on the next adventures,stay safe and good travels Best wishes Alf Marianne Bamse and Mirrormons, :thumb::thumb: woof woof, meow:beer:

 

[Pat4Neil]

Well done on a great report, and recruiting new funsters too.

Hopefully we will be able to catch up on your journey home.
We have sold our motorhome to the first person to see it.

If not we are hoping to get to Malvern.

Safe travels

Pat and Neil

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