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Lofoten Islands
Expedition 2019 |
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News items or reports on club activities should be sent to website@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk |
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Anne |
Dick |
George |
Timmy |
Julian |
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Andy Garland |
Karl Winrow |
Catriona Hare |
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Roger Coleman |
Day 00 - The Journey Out (8th August) by Julian “The Famous Five find
their way to Lofoten”
Anne had been to
Norway before back in 2015 and although a little grumpy on that trip she
definitely wanted to return. Anne
was very organised and put together a detailed plan of action for the summer
holidays. We all immediately
signed up to her plan and could not wait until school broke up later that
summer. Anne kept sending out
details of what to bring and where to be. Some of her notes were umpteen pages
long! She even reminded us that we were all flying from the airport in
Manchester, “the big one!”
As
we left the UK; George, Anne and Julian all stocked up on lashings of ginger
beer for the trip from the large shop at the airport. Here they met some
friends, “Jo the gypsy girl” and young “Tinker
Hayling”. They were
going to the islands to walk and take photographs and hoped to meet up again
with the famous five for the last few days of the trip.
Upon arriving at Bodo, the group waved goodbye to
Jo (the gypsy girl) and Tinker Hayling. They had heard about the size of
the airplane on this 3rd leg of the journey and instead ran away to
catch the ferry to Moskenesoya which was due to leave the next day. Timmy was a little concerned as the tiny
plane taxied to the end of the runway and whimpered a little as it took off and
swung round to head towards the tiny landing strip at Svolaer. Anne tried hard to calm everyone 
with her
“shortest ever runway” joke. It did not really work.
With a screeching of the brakes the tiny little plane pulled up to the
terminal, a small building with grass on the roof but with the biggest toilet
we had ever seen. We all
collected our luggage from the trolley but “blimey”, Anne`s main
bag with all her vital equipment was missing along with all the food for the
trip. The airport did not have a
clue where it could be but fortunately Anne was quick thinking and managed to
scribble down a phone number to see if turned up in the morning. We would have to keep our fingers and
toes crossed.
Having
landed with most of our gear the five quickly loaded themselves into the taxi
and headed to Sandvika Camping. This was to be our base for the
adventure. This Sandvika
was number 16 of the 27 Sandvika`s on Treasure Island
(Ausvagoya) but luckily the taxi driver knew how to
find it. We tried to check in but
there was a problem, we were booked into a hostel back in Svolaer
and were not due to arrive in our cabin until the next day. “Crikey” exclaimed George,
what were we going to do?
Fortunately, Anne had it all sorted in a less than 38 minutes, we even
received an upgrade to towels and bed sheets. This was going to be the best
summer ever 😊
More Photos…….
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Day 01 - Orsvagen campsite to Henningsvaer (shop) to
Lyngvaeret Island (9th August) by Anne “The Famous Five and The
Riddle of the Missing Bag”
Anne was feeling most perturbed. Those beastly people at the airline had
failed to put her bag on the right aeroplane to Lofoten,
and that meant that she had no clothes or camping 
equipment or
food for the holiday. She was so
looking forward to lashings of ginger beer and bags of tomatoes around the
campfire with her chums, but now it seemed that she would have to spend all her
pocket money to buy more food. She
would also have to rent camping gear from Uncle Jann (the kayak-hire man),
although Timmy had offered to share his kennel with her so that she
didn’t have to rent a tent.
This was very kind, but Timmy was going a bit mangy (he had already lost
the fur from his head) and Anne thought that she might prefer her own little
tent. How Anne wished that her bag
of things had made it to Lofoten.
Just then, Uncle Jann
turned up and said “Anne, I have
just been speaking to the airline.
Your bag will be on the 7:00pm flight from Oslo. You must camp
near the village of Lyngvaraet tonight. Your bag will be delivered to you at Lyngvaraet by courier at 7:45pm.” And with that he was gone.
Anne was sure that
this was a clue, but what did it mean?
Could the Famous Five possibly solve the riddle and find Anne’s
missing bag? Anne continued
to ponder the riddle as she packed her boat, which contained nothing much at
all. She then paddled with the rest
of the group along the coast to the south west, towards the island of Henningsvaer.
They had learned of an old Norse legend that said there was a
supermarket on the island that Timmy, George, Dick and Julian hoped to find so
that they could top-up on ginger beer and bags of tomatoes.
The scenery was stunning - mountains as high as any in Scotland shot straight
from the sea, and rocky islands lay scattered around like a bag of spilt
marbles.
“Blimey, feast yer
mince pies on that lot” said Julian.
“What did he say?” said George.
“I think he’s practicing Norwegian”
said Dick “something about apricots
I think”
“Or maybe trout?” said Anne, helpfully.
The famous Five were
soon at the island of Henningsvaer and split up to
find the legendary supermarket.
Anne soon thought she had found it, and persuaded Timmy that the small
corner shop was indeed the fabled supermarket of Henningsvaer. Timmy bought some very expensive food,
only to find out later that Dick, George and Julian had found the real
supermarket, where the food was much cheaper. Timmy didn’t usually bite, but
Anne thought that she had better keep her distance from him for a while, just
in case.
They were then ready
to leave and get on their way, with boats bursting at the seams with hampers of
(you’ve guessed it) ginger beer and bags of tomatoes. They were heading for another small
island, this one uninhabited, not far from the coast. They were planning to stay there for
their first wild camp. Anne stared
at the map. What was the
island’s name? It was Lyngvaraet!
And it was just offshore of a village with the same name. The words of Uncle Jann came back to
her…”You must camp near the
village of Lyngvaraet tonight”…Could
this be the first part of Jann’s cryptic clue to be broken?
Once they reached Lyngvaraet island the Famous Five picked through the rest
of Uncle Jann’s riddle. What
did he mean when he said, “Your bag
will be delivered to you at Lyngvaraet by courier at
7:45pm.”?
“Woof”
said Timmy “Woof woof”
“I think Timmy’s trying to tell us
something” said George
“Yes” said Anne “I think he’s saying that someone
connected with a courier company will visit Lyngvaraet
tonight, sometime after 7:40 but before 7:50”
“And that person will have Anne’s bag!”
Shrieked Dick.
The Famous Five
quickly developed a plan. Anne was
to paddle to Lyngvaraet with Julian, where they would
lie in wait and spring a trap on the courier. Anne and Julian swiftly put the plan
into action and set off at blistering speed in their kayaks to the
mainland. They arrived in plenty of
time to set their trap and sat down to wait. Anne had brought along some ginger beer,
and they were so engrossed in drinking it that they almost failed to notice the
arrival of the courier. Quick as a
flash they leapt up and approached him
“A package from SAS Airlines for Ms
Anne Garland” the courier snarled.
“Yes, that’s me. Thank you ever so much. I’m exceedingly grateful”
said Anne in a most English manner.
Anne loaded the
contents of her bag into her kayak and she and Julian paddled back to the
island to meet the others. They
were jubilant! The riddle had been
solved! They decided to crack open
another bottle of ginger beer to celebrate.
“My ginger beer is all brown” said
Dick.
“and I feel squiffy”
said George
“I’m feelin’
a bit Brahms and Liszt meself” said Julian.
“Is he speaking Norwegian again?”
asked Anne
“Woof” said Timmy.
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Day 02 - Lyngvaeret Island to Festvainset Ruberthelmen
(elevenses) to Felvika beach (lunch) to Krakoya Island (10th August) by Timmy “Five discover the
Arctic Ocean”
Anne
was feeling so much better this morning having been reunited with her
belongings. She now had two pairs
of undies and her own Macintosh to wear should the weather turn dastardly and
more than enough food to last for the whole holiday.
The group had also solved the other big issue uncovered the previous evening.
Anne had asked Uncle Jann for “Magic fuel” for the stoves. Please Uncle Jann, they run on
“mystical white gas” or even “Arctic Coleman
fuel”. Well it turned out
that Coleman fuel in Norwegian means Kerosene (Paraffin).
“Blimey” said Julian, “this mystical
white gas will not light, how are we going to cook”
“I’m hungry” said Dick.
“I am used to three full meals a day after all those iron
men”
Julian eventually found the secret of lighting the mystical white gas. We first make a bonfire around the stove
with paper and sticks and then set it all on fire. 
When
the flames eventually die down enough to approach, the mystical white gas fires
up into action. However,
Anne’s and Dick’s stoves did not like the bonfire approach, and we
were to use them as extra ballast in the bottom of the kayaks for the rest of
the trip.
“Woof” said Timmy.
The Famous Five set off extraordinarily early from Lyngvaeret
Island just as the sun was rising.
Anne had read that the Northerly flow would speed us under the road
bridge and out into the Arctic ocean. It was a fantastic red sunrise, but
George’s eyes were still closed and would not open for at least another
hour.
As
the Famous Five rounded Brenna point the ocean swell began to crash on the
surrounding reefs. George had a
nervous grin but struggled on over the top of each swell. The group had heard that Nordic Trolls
often had summer houses all covered in moss and grass and we soon found one of
the dwellings complete with an outside loo.
“That’s a bit of luck” said Anne until she discovered that it
was locked. We laid out the picnic
blanket and had a scrumptious picnic luncheon (elevenses) with lots of tea in
the sun. Only a Kilometre or two to
go promised Anne. She had selected
a splendid little island for our second night sleeping wild on the
adventure. Timmy then barked
“Woof, Woof” and his little nose pointed up to some approaching
high wispy cloud.
“Crikey” gasped Dick “looks like stronger winds are on the
way”
“Red sky in the morning” mumbled Anne. “We had a little
trouble here in 2015 with dangerous reefs all around. Let’s view the future with some
Nordic 4g.”
Mystic Meg at Yr.No predicted strong winds from the
North East, Anne’s heart missed a beat and Timmy indicated that he did
not want to get caught in his kennel on a low-lying island. They decided to press on regardless in
the hope of clearing all the dangerous outlying reefs and finding shelter further
East. George and Dick did not like
the idea of paddling into a headwind but quietly tucked in behind with the
promise of a non-paddling day tomorrow.
“I think that was where we had fish and chips last time” said Anne.
“Where?” said Dick, “I am hungry again”
“Oh back there in Laukvika Harbour; but we best
not stop as the wind is picking up” said Anne.
“But how am I going to spend all this Kroner?” said Julian.
After
what seemed ages we arrived at a gorgeous beach and possible campsite.
What’s that smell” said Dick.
“I think it’s Anne” said Julian.
Timmy pointed his nose at all the rotting seaweed behind the rocks.
“This is ‘Smellvika’ not Felvika beach” remarked Dick. They all giggled a bit.
“Well this won’t do” said George, “I need a cup of
tea.”
After a late lunch and a light snooze, the Five returned to sea to battle the
headwinds around the headlands and more very dangerous reefs to a group of
islands. “There is a 5-star
campsite somewhere here, we have camped here before” said Anne. We eventually found the holy site, white
coral sand, nice views but it was downgraded to a 4-star as it is now
overlooked by three houses. No one
cared as we were all soon to bed after doing two days in one. 35km, 12 hours paddling, most of it into
a 6 m/s headwind.
At least we have a day off tomorrow because of the bad weather thought George
as she folded herself into her snug nylon tunnel and 1.5 season bag.
More Photos…….
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Day 03 - Krakoya Island to Island
at North end of Raftsundet (11th August) by Dick “The Famous Five and
the mystery of the large boulder”
After a gruelling day on the water the
famous five enjoyed a leisurely morning catching up on sleep and cups of tea,
Julian fancied something stronger, but Dick said it was a little too early for
ginger beer! Anne had promised the
gang a day off, however the forecast dictated otherwise, and a decision was
made to press on continuing along the north coast of the island. Dick complained about his sore
shoulders having not paddled for some time and being hungry, though the latter
was not unusual!
Leaving the
pretty little island of Krakoya the gang set off
heading east along the rather relatively flattish coastline, first to Fiskebøl fergekai where
they had to negotiate the ferry crossing, Timmy insisted the gang maintain
current speed and heading stating that “the ferry will jolly well have go
around us!”
It was a grey day
but that didn’t dampen the mood of the gang as they paddled along, Dick
periodically needing to stop to bail his cockpit out, at times it seemed like
he was paddling a bathtub! As they
paddled along, they spotted an unusual object on the small island of Myrlandsoya, it was rather large man-made looking cuboid
with what appeared to be a patch of red on the top of it. The five speculated about what it could
be, with suggestions of boat shed, sheep shelter or secret military aircraft
hangar. Imaginations were running
wild. Dick 
was just hoping
it was a KFC.
The five decided
to take a late lunch, or 3s’s on the island and investigate further. Dick looked on enviously at the
sumptuous lunches the others were enjoying while trying to make his cheese
slice and corn wrap look bigger and more appealing than they actually
were. Oh, and the unusual object
turned out to be nothing more than a just a large boulder! “It’s an erratic” stated Anne in a matter of fact manner.
Back on the water
Timmy blazed a trail through the shallow reef before coming to a grinding halt,
“fiddle sticks!” he exclaimed.
Much to the amusement of the others. He was forced to climb out and pull his
boat in to deeper water. Anne was
quick to point out that this was technically a portage, but Timmy insisted he
only got out to assist the others, who quite sensibly went around the other
way, and so the teasing continued late into the afternoon!
Further along the coastline toward the
channel between Brottøya and the mainland, the
landscape changed to high rocky slopes that fell down into the sea. It was here that the sound of rushing
water was heard and so they took the opportunity to re-fill their water
bottles. To Dick, this was a new
experience and despite his reservations of drinking diesel esters from the road
run off he was pleasantly surprised at the refreshing taste from the babbling
stream.
By late afternoon
the gang rounded the North Eastern tip of Austvagoy
Island. Tired and hungry they
searched for the secret beach Anne had stayed on before. Eventually the island of Gunnarskjaenit was found and camp made for the night. Timmy decided it was time for a bath and
took a swim in the cold waters of the channel, the others were secretly
relieved since the aroma from his boat was becoming a little whiffy, but no-one
had the heart to tell him.
The five settled
down for the night and once again Julian asked the question. “Yes, now
it’s time for ginger beer!” came the reply.
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Day 04 - Island at North end of Raftsundet to Trollfiorden (12th August)
by George “The Famous Five forget they are on holiday and
get up very early”
Anne, who is very
organised, had brought lots of useful information with her to Lofoten. With the help of Timmy, she planned today's paddle
to minimise the threat of the Raftstundet narrows.
This meant being on the water by six. Dick was very concerned about breakfast,
early morning porridge being an integral part of his daily routine. George
still had too many irregular shaped food items at this time meaning her boat
packing could be a bit slow. Maybe, there needs to be an EU Directive demanding
that all vegetable shapes can tessellate. Anyway, this meant most of the group
got up between 4:00 and 4:30 am. The exception of course being Timmy who can
get ready jolly quickly. However, George is convinced that Timmy sleeps in his
paddling clothes and having glimpsed the thread-bareness of the floor of
Timmy's 
kennel, this is
probably also necessary if he is going to stay dry.
We set off down Raftstundet,
where we all failed to resist the urge to take multiple photos of the stunning
scenery. Julian was often at the rear of the group camera in hand. Anne was
getting increasingly concerned that we might not get through the narrows before
the tide turned. George took the lead and paddled past the marker buoy at the
start of the narrows, setting a responsible example. The rest of the group,
including Anne stopped at the buoy and played in the flow around the buoy.
Luckily, we made the end of the narrows before the tide turned, and George
really wished she had also played around the buoy.
Anne was frequently concerned about our water
provisions and she encouraged us all to top up our water supplies at the next
stream. This meant we had at least 30 litres of water for the 5 of us and we
were well supplied for the next stage of our adventure, second breakfast. We
landed on the island of Ulvoya in a sheltered bay
opposite the entrance to Trollfiorden. This was a
great location to catch up on sleep, eat and drink (obviously ensuring we used
our limited water 
supplies
sparingly).
We then paddled across the very clear still water
to the entrance of Trollfiorden. The stillness only
being broken occasionally by the wake of the tourist boats. This created
“invisible” swell, our kayaks moved up and down with the swell, but
the surface still looked flat, most discombobulating. Paddling into Trollfiorden meant we all took a few more photos. When we
got to the bottom of the fiord George was so distracted by the scenery she got
stuck on a rock. Julian laughed, but dashing Dick came to her rescue. George,
Juliana and Dick then got a spiffing surprise with Timmy and Anne deciding we
were going to camp here for the night. George was confused as she thought all
famous five expedition days were at least 30Km and included a paddle into a
head wind.
Timmy, Dick, Julian and George decided to improve
their hygiene in the waters of the fiord, Julian and Dick swimming a reasonable
distance. Anne decided her constitution was too delicate for any immersion.
In the afternoon Dick, Julian and Anne carried out a stakeout, patiently observing and recording the actions of a sailing boat in the fiord. They observed the crew of the boat spray paint the name of their boat on the rock on the side of the fiord. Although this was done badly, and their attempts at getting to the cliff were entertaining it was still vandalism and the famous five planned to report it to the authorities on their return to civilisation.
After tea George and Dick climbed about 200m to
the lake above Trollfiorden. We returned a couple of
hours later to find Julian looking after Anne, with a bottle of whisky. Timmy,
who had slept for most of the afternoon had retired to his kennel for the
night.
We awarded Trollfiorden
campsite 4.5 stars, it had lots of freshwater and a proper English toilet,
which made Anne very happy. It would have had five stars if it wasn't for all
the tourist boats; in particular the Hurtigruten Ferry which visited the fiord
at midnight and was very noisy!!
Day 05 - Trollfiorden
to Finoya Island (smiley face face island) (13th August) by Julian “The Famous Five go to Smiley Face Island”
After having had a good night’s sleep, and more
importantly as far as Dick was concerned, a hearty breakfast, we were ready to
continue our wonderful adventure.
Anne made sure we were all aware of the need to leave
the campsite in shipshape condition. (Julian thought - take only memories,
leave only footprints – Yes, thank you Anne, we know, but 
he was old
enough and wise enough not to say anything!)
The next part of our journey involved some rather
tricky tidal planning. This was jolly exciting as it was really important to
get to the Valvagen Canal while there was enough
water to ensure we could all paddle through. If we failed to break camp and be
on the water at the appointed time, or we had a mishap on route, or Timmy and
Anne got the timing wrong we could be stuck for some time at the entrance of
the canal. If this happened there was little doubt that while we waited Anne
would want to make a new camp and Dick would start eating his lunch.
Fortunately, we were on the water at the right time.
(George had eaten some of her irregular shaped food items and consequently
packed a little quicker.) We had no mishaps as we paddled passed the islands of
Ulvoya (yesterday’s second breakfast stop) and Brakoya on glorious, balmy seas in splendid weather. Timmy
and Anne were spot on with the tidal planning. (Julian had confidently expected
them to be but would not admit that to them.) The canal is only short but made out of
enormous, (really big) boulders placed on top each other and was somewhat
impressive. Having successfully negotiated the canal we did indeed stop, and
Dick did indeed eat his Lunch.
Now came the really serious part of the days paddle
and it was all George’s fault!
Some years earlier when George was young and didn’t know Timmy she
had stayed on an island, much like the one she owns, (Kirrin
Island). George really,
really wanted to return. It was called Finoya Island,
but George had drawn a smiley face on her map, so we called it ‘Smiley
Face Island’. It was out in the sea and just one of a lot of small
islands. We knew it had no fresh water but had plenty left in our kayaks even
if storm bound for a day or two. But could we find it?
Once we had embarked on this heroic paddle and were
committed to the task, 
George
discovered that she could not identify the Island! Apparently, to George, all Islands look
the same from the sea! It was only due to some terrifically good navigation by
Timmy and Anne that we did succeed in our quest and reunite George with
‘Smiley Face Island’.
And what a splendid island it was. We soon had camp
made, clothes and equipment drying and the kettle on. This was going to be such
fun. A whole island for us to explore for the rest of the afternoon and
evening. Even Dick left his cooking pot to circumnavigate the island on foot,
it was that good.
Just before bedtime the sky turned pink and what was a
jolly spiffing view across the sea to the mountains became even jollier and
more spiffing. At that moment, thanks to the pink sky and a quantity of our
special ginger beer, it was the most beautiful place in the whole wide world.
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Day 06 - Finoya Island (smiley face island) to Brettesnes Vagen harbour
(lunch) to Sandvika beach (14th August) Anne “he Famous Five go to Mystery Island”
The Famous Five awoke far too early
and emerged from their tents one by one, bleary eyed.
“What a lovely day for breakfast”
said Dick, hungrily.
“Err” said Julian.
“It’s not a lovely
day, look!”
The children looked around. During the night a thick sea mist
had crept over Smiley Island and enveloped it in a cloak of impenetrable grey.
“Where’s the land gone?” said George
“Which way do we even paddle to get to the land?” said Anne
“We’re marooned!” said Julien
“Oh cripes!” said Dick
“Lummy” said George
“Crikey” said everyone.
Just then the children noticed that
Timmy was already in his boat, and he was pawing the water excitedly with his
paddle.
“Woof” said Timmy, and then “woof woof” he said again.
“Do you think…” said Anne
“That Timmy is trying to…” Said George
“Tell us something?” said Julian.
“Yes” said Dick “I
think he’s saying that if we paddle on a course of 250 degrees magnetic,
we’ll reach the large island of Storemolla in
around 1 hour and 28 minutes, arriving at a point just north of the Gulvika inlet”
“And will a heading of 250 degrees offset the possible slight northerly
tidal flow between the islands of Storemolla and Arsteinen?” queried Anne.
“I don’t know” said Dick “there’s only so much information that Timmy can tell us
by going ‘Woof’ three times”.
He children followed Timmy’s
plan. The passage across the water
was eerie, with only the occasional skerry looming from the murk to provide
some relief from the shrouding blanket of grey. Anne was at the front, using a little
compass that Uncle Jann the kayak hire man had kindly stuck to the front of her
boat. Gradually, vague shapes began
to develop in the monochrome view in front of them. These grew into hulking and monstrous
mountains, wrapped in mist and disappearing upwards into the damp claggy clouds
above. The Famous Five paddled south
south-west along the primeval shoreline to the harbour of Brettesness. The scene was set for an adventure!
As
they entered the harbour, they noted a quay on the one side, and a number of
houses on the other. It was
obviously quite a large community, but…it was deserted! There was not a soul in sight!
“Why is there no one here?” asked Anne, quizzically.
“Let’s find out, it’s bound to be a spiffing adventure”
said Julian, trembling with excitement.
“Let’s split up, I bet
whoever’s responsible would get away with it if it wasn’t for us
meddling kids” said George, momentarily forgetting that they were the
Famous Five and not the crew of the Mystery Machine in Scooby-Doo.
“Stuff that,” said Dick “let’s have first-lunch instead”. So, they did.
As the children gobbled down their
food Timmy communicated, using a complex sequence of ‘Woofs’ and
tail wags, his suggestions for the rest of 
the
day and the next. These involved a
circumnavigation of the adjacent island of LitleMola,
followed by a visit to the next island of Skrova, a
camp on one of the islands and culminating with a 7.5km crossing to the
‘mainland’. The others
readily agreed with Timmy’s plan, and off they set.
As they started their circumnavigation
Timmy started looking around and sniffing the air. He then pulled out a portable telephone
that he kept attached to his collar, punched a few buttons with his paw, and in
a moment the weather forecast appeared on the instrument. Timmy conferred with Anne, and Anne
conferred with Timmy. After much
conferring they announced that the forecast predicted strong winds at some time
over the next two days, although with a rather unpredictable time of arrival. They considered that it would be very
grown up if they erred on the side of caution and gave up the idea of a camp on
the islands in case they were stormbound and missed their flight back home (or
were forced to paddle back in bad conditions). George and Julien thought this was a
sensible plan as well. Dick
couldn’t give one jot what they did as long as he was on a beach eating
second-lunch very soon.
The Famous Five therefore began their
second crossing of the day, towards a scatter of skerries and islands on the
‘mainland’ at the south eastern end of Austnesfjorden. They arrived after a short while and
amused themselves looking for a 
campsite
for the night. They found one
fairly quickly – a charming little sandy bay called Sandvika. This was not really a surprise, because
almost all charming little sandy bays on Lofoten are
called Sandvika.
They
immediately got to work erecting, tents, climbing inside them and having
’40-winks’ (or 122,781 winks in Anne’s case). Dick decided to forgo the
40-winking bit and had second lunch instead. He then remembered, with delight, that
he hadn’t had time earlier for elevenses, so he ate that as well. Then it was time for tea. And then it was time for supper. Dick decided that it had been quite a
good day.
It had been raining gently since they
arrived, and they settled under a tarp in the evening to chat about the
Adventure of Mystery Island. After
a while Timmy retired to his kennel, George went off to re-arrange her bags of
tomatoes and Dick sneaked away to search for a packet of spare porridge that he
was sure was stuck right at the pointy end of his kayak’s front
compartment. Julien and Anne found
a spare bottle of Ginger Beer – again.
More Photos…….
Day 07 - Sandvika beach to waterfall campsite at back of
Austpollen (15th August) by Timmy “The Famous Five and
the tepee”
The night had been awfully wet and
windy but the five had been snug in their tents on the sheltered beach. The group had improvised a jolly good
shelter using Timmys Tarp, a paddle and a few carefully placed boulders. Dick was eating porrige as the
others emerged. George was
very happy as we could have a more leisurely start today. They decided to have an early elevenses
and then decide on where to go for the day.
Although
Timmy was a little worried at the prospect of venturing so near to Anne`s
suggested “short portage across the island”, the five decided to
explore Austpollen Fjord. There was
even the prospect of possible camping in a bay near the top.
The group successfully navigated past
Følstad klubben and
the sound of running water had Anne querying the amount of water we all had
left. We decided to top up anyway
as it may be difficult to find in “waterfall cove”!
Just then Timmy noticed that Anne`s rear hatch had not be secured properly and
barked “woof, woof”
“Thank you very much Timmy” said Anne, that could have been really
serious.
Timmy then retrieved the missing hatch cover and replaced it securely on
Anne’s boat.
The five continued paddling north along the steep sided Fjord. Last night’s heavy rain left the
mountain tops shrouded in a vail of thick cloud.
“How very atmospheric” said Julian.
Every
valley or cirque now had a major stream pouring down the hillside. The group investigated several old
landing stages and headlands looking for that idyllic campsite. Upon rounding the corner, we ventured
into Austpollen.
Five major waterfalls roared down from above at the head of the Fjord.
“Look over there” said Dick, “a Tepee“.
“Gosh”
exclaimed George. “We will
have to set up guard in case we are marauded!”
“Maybe they are friendly” said Anne.
“I THINK WE SOULD KEEP OUR DISTANCE” murmured Julian.
The five set about putting a little distance between the Tepee tribe and their
waterfall camp.
The camp was soon made, tents erected, stove on and boats stored. The five were now very well-rehearsed at
setting up camp.
“All this wonderful scenery is making me a little giddy” said Dick.
“I am just thrilled to be in such a splendid location” uttered
Anne.
“It’s absolutely
wizzard being able to go off on camping holidayall by ourselves” said
George.
After the
relatively short day the group set about relaxing, trying to dry some of their
things and drinking the remainder of the ginger beer.
It turned out in the end that there was nobody living in the tepee after
all. 😊
Day 08 - waterfall campsite at back of Austpollen to
Eldhusodden (16th August) by Dick “The Famous Five and
the model boat”
It was a bright, clear
and crisp morning as the famous five began to stair in the camp, the sun was
hiding behind the jagged mountain ridge which had itself been hidden in the low
mist when they arrived the previous day. Now, however, it could be seen in its
magnificent glory with cascading waterfalls and ancient tree cover on its lower
slopes. 
Not
in any particular hurry, the gang had breakfast and packed away tents in the
chill air, just then a shaft of sunlight streamed down from behind the ridge as
the sun rose higher quickly warming up the gang. “Crickey!”
exclaimed Dick, “Who’s put the heating on?”, “I came to
Lofoten expecting Ice Bergs, not expecting to need
Ice cream!” he said as began to boil in his dry suit. “Do you ever stop thinking of
food?” asked George.
It
seemed a shame to disturb the stillness of the water in the fjord as the gang
pressed on with their adventure, the image of the mountains and 
reflections
on the water would not have been be out of place on a chocolate box or
postcard! They hadn’t gone far
however before Anne and Dick, who are both showing signs of their age, needed
an urgent comfort break!
At
the head of Laupstadosen fjord the gang came across a
tiny model of a Norwegian fishing trawler which was moored in the bay, with its
yellow and white detailing Anne was quite taken with it and wanted to take it
home with him. But the others
explained that it probably belonged to another little boy or girl who would be
very cross if he had and may result in a hoard of angry Vikings invading England
to give him a “damn good telling off!”. “Maybe that’s what happened
in the 9th century?” pondered Timmy who has a keen interest in history.
Once
again, the breath-taking scenery left the gang silent as they paddled south
along the western shoreline. It was
here that Julian spotted a rather large raptor perched on a rock,
“Woof” said Timmy, “A golden eagle is it Timmy?” Anne
interpreted. The magnificent bird
was not at all bothered by the 4 kayaks, and 1 bathtub that Dick was paddling
and posed for many photographs before spreading its huge wings and gracefully
flying off into the distance.
They
landed again and settled for a quick spot of lunch comprising of jam sandwiches
for Julian, sardines for Anne, dried dog biscuits for Timmy and Spiced beetroot,
feta tarts with tahini-dressed leaves on four-day sourdough flatbread for
George. Dick sighed as he folded
his corn bread and cheese slice.
Once re-energized “the five” again took to the water in
search of the ever elusive 5-star campsite.
Sometime
later they came across a white sandy beach, Timmy wagged his tail excitedly
which was interpreted to mean he rated the site at least 4 and half stars. He
did not want to leave, but the rest of the gang wanted to see if there was a
5-star beach just around the next headland since this was to be their last
night. Alas their search was in vane and they returned shortly after,
Timmy’s tail wagged again which this time meant “Told you
so!”.
At
the top of the sandy beach there was little room for tents however upon
exploring the adjacent woodland the gang came upon a clearing alongside an
old-world war 2 bunker. “This
is perfect.” remarked Julian and they made camp there immediately. Dinner
was served back on the beach in the sunshine, it was almost like being in the
Caribbean what with the white sand and drying islands. After dinner Anne recounted some
Norwegian folklore to the rest of the gang, enthralling them a with tales of
trolls, portages and missing suitcases.
Anne had been secretly sipping the ginger beer again!
Dick,
despite Anne’s tales plucked up the courage to go and explore the drying
island, having taken some more pictures for his scrap book he came across some
mysterious footprints in the sand. “Much bigger than a human.” he
mused, “Trolls!” he exclaimed as he ran back to tell the others,
but on the way, he stumbled upon
Timmy, who had somehow got stuck up his knees in the soft sand! After rescuing Timmy, they made it
back to the others who were all looking a trifle mischievous. They burst out in fits of laughter after
they revealed that it was, they who had made the mysterious footprints,
incidentally after drinking the last of the ginger beer!
Sadly,
the fair weather began to break.
Keen eyed Dick spotted the rain in the distance and was the first in his
tent! He heard the first of
the raindrops hit his fly sheet closely followed by the patter of hasty
footstep as the rest of the gang ran for cover. Sat in his tent he coveted a last cup of
hot chocolate that he was to have while out in the wild before snuggling down
in his sleeping bag for the last time.
Then, apart from the sound of raindrops on canvas and howling wind for
the rest of the night, silence fell eventually fell upon the camp.
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Day 09 - Eldhusodden to Orsvagen campsite (17th August) by George “The Famous Five
experience challenging conditions on their last day”
Following the
early night to avoid the heavy rain and wind, the Famous Five were up early, to
see a bright sunny day, with little wind. We had a relaxed morning, drying our
kit on the sun-drenched rocks, enjoying an extended breakfast and drinking tea;
after all this was our last day, and we had gas and petrol to use up. More
importantly we were waiting for the wind to die down before we headed round the
airport headland, Timmy thought this was a really good idea.
George heard words like swell, rolling
seas, clapotis, and the need to stay out at sea, so she had
some more food and travel sickness pills. Dick kept his 10L water supply in
case we found time to stop for lunch or afternoon tea. We headed due south
towards the airport headland in choppy but easily manageable seas. As we
approached the airport the swell started to 
increase, and
when we rounded the headland, we had huge swell (George is only small) confused
by clapotis. Timmy had to nip Dick's heals viciously to get
him to stay far enough offshore; George held on to her paddle very tightly;
Julian relaxed at the back taking photos.
The sea state
improved as we passed the headland, and we experienced a slightly more regular
following sea. We were now whizzing along. Suddenly, Anne indicated she was in
difficulty and asked George and Julian to raft up and come to her rescue. We
rafted up to find that Anne's paddle was nearly in two pieces, and for some
time she had been paddling with a dangerously floppy paddle. With the paddle
screwed back together we maintained our offshore route as the winds continued
to decrease. We kept out at sea till we had a clear relatively calm path back
to land and our staring campsite. George thinks that Dick and Julian may have
preferred a slightly shorter and more exciting route, however, Timmy and Anne
were in charge and they considered caution to be the prudent option.
We finally
entered the calm waters of Orsvagen, where Timmy encouraged
Dick to try rolling a fully loaded sea boat. Dick had said he would do this all
week and he was running out of time. Dick quickly learnt the consequences of
having a 10L bag of water under his knees when he capsized. He came out his
boat quite quickly. Mature Julian thought he could do better, and gave a good
example of a roll, however, he gave a much poorer example of how to close the
neck on your dry suit before capsizing into cold water. Timmy, George and Anne
were not wearing dry suits and did not consider anything as silly as rolling 
in arctic waters.
We landed at our final destination,
unpacked and cleaned the boats and borrowed kit, before sitting down to lunch
with our stoves on the picnic benches in the campsite. This was despite already
having the key to our cabin for the night. I feared this was because our clean
clothes were still with the kayak hire man, and our L'eau
de unwashed may have been overpowering indoors. However, I think none of us
were really ready to end our adventure and return to civilisation.
However, once we were in doors and clean,
Dick who now knows that dried couscous is designed for dieters not multi day
kayakers, took control and ordered pizzas. Dick ordering and nearly finishing a
two-person pizza, before demolishing some chocolate brownie. Timmy, of course,
ate his remaining expedition food, whilst tutting that the rest of us had sold
out, and our behaviour was unbecoming of the Famous Five.
Heavy rains arrived and it finally felt
good to be tucked up warm and safe in bed in our cabin, our Lofoten
kayaking adventure really was over, well until the next time....
Day 10 - Last day in Kabelvag (18th August) by Julian “The Famous Five take a day off”
How
snug and warm we had all been in proper beds in our cabin and although a little
sad our Lofoten
kayaking adventure really was over, it was another day and the chance for
another adventure. But wait, it appears George, always the tomboy, had not
slept in a bed at all. She had spent the night sleeping on the floor in the
lounge. She really is as tough as old boots!
It was decided we should hike out of Base
Camp and find some proper entertainment in the nearby town of Kabelvag. Ann had been there once before and warned us
there was little excitement to be found and explained, politely, as always,
that she would stay in base camp to meet up later with the friends we had met
at the start of our journey, “Jo the gypsy girl” and young
“Tinker Hayling”.
Once
Dick had quickly demolished some cold pizza found at the back of the fridge,
he, Timmy, Julian and George set of at a blistering pace eager to see the
delights of Kabelvag. On the way Dick borrowed a
little green scooter and ‘scooted’ up and down the road before
returning it and running to catch us up.
As
for Kabelvag, for once it seems that Ann, who can be
known to exaggerate, had not done so on this occasion. There was little
excitement to be had and being a Sunday most of what little there was appeared
shut. Undeterred however our intrepid quartet did find a pub on stilts, which
clearly showed we were deep within the Article Circle (N68” 13’ S14” 30’) and a library in a telephone box. Julian
was most displeased on discovering there was not one Enid Blyton book to be had
but Timmy placated him by suggesting that they were so popular they were
probably 
all out on loan.
George then found some
hula-hoop’s and encouraged by Timmy whirled them around her body right
there in the street! For once sensible Julian decided not to be sensible and
also had a go. It transpires that he is as rubbish at hula-hoops as he is at
doing up a dry suit neck!
Dick suggested that we all
make our way to the local museum where we could seek both education and
culture. (And a cafe.) This was slightly off the return to Base Camp route, but
it was a pleasant day and nice to walk through Norwegian streets and look at
the houses.
Once at the museum, Timmy,
who had been far better behaved on our Lofoten kayaking adventure than was
expected, sadly let himself down. He went scampering off exploring leaving
Julian, Dick and George sick with worry about where he was and what mischief he
was up too. Eventually Timmy came back and although George spoke harshly to
him, he seemed not in the least bit concerned. Any tension was broken by Dick
suggesting lunch.
We
had some difficulty in obtaining food but we did eventually find a very nice
restaurant on the Fiord where George enjoyed Norwegian bread pudding, Timmy had
an excellent and for once good value salad and Dick a very
‘scrummy’ waffle which he actually made all by his self - with a
little help. Julian drank some water with a slice of lemon.
It
was then back to Base Camp, with another little ‘scoot’ on route by
Dick. We had to be quick as Timmy had smelt rain in the air. Sure enough, no
sooner had we got to Base Camp than a very nasty, heavy rainfall began. You
don’t need a ‘Bracknell Weather Centre’ when you have a
Timmy. Clever Boy.
That
evening the Famous Five went out for a meal. Unfortunately, they are not so
famous in Norway and having been shown to their table they were made to wait
before ordering as another group, who came in later, were served first! Never
mind, this allowed for some jolly good ginger beer time. Just before leaving we
had the pleasure of “Jo the gypsy girl” and young “Tinker
Hayling” joining us meaning yet more lashings of ginger beer. What a
charming way to end another good day in Northern Norway.
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Day 11 - Journey Home (19th
August) by Julian “The Famous Five find their way home”
“Gosh what is that dreadful
smell?” said George. “Sorry about that” said Dick, “I
think it is my shoes”. “Really” said Ann, “Can’t
you pack them at the bottom of your case wrapped up in a carrier bag. People
should not have to put up with that. How utterly disgusting”. “I am
afraid they will have to” said Dick, “I am wearing them
home”.
This conversation was stopped by the early arrival of
our taxi. This was not Anne’s fault, who had planned everything to
perfection as usual, but that of the taxi firm. None the less the outcome was
the same with everyone galvanised into action and a flurry of last-minute
packing and checking of bedrooms etc. Fortunately, Dick had got up early to
ensure he could eat any food items, irregular shaped or otherwise, that may
have been left 
behind so he
was virtually ready. Timmy, who was maybe the fastest camp breaker and case
packer Norway has ever seen, was also ready in a trice. George was pleased to
find that having eaten all her expedition food she could pack quickly and while
her case was still heavy, she could actually lift it. Something she could not
do on the journey out. Anyway, we were all soon in the taxi, joined by ‘Jo’
and ‘Tinker’ who would travel back with us, and off to the airport
we went.
Julian thought Svolvaer
Airport was a lovely little airport, where the check in lady later becomes one
of the baggage handlers and where they can take their time and search through
bags to their hearts content as Dick found out. Poor Dick. It was Dick’s
stove that seemed to be the problem and as Julian also had a stove in his case
he was rather anxious that he too would have all his smelly items, including
undergarments on display, but no, his case went through without a problem. He
didn’t even have to remove his belt or take off his shoes. No wonder he
liked the airport. The cute little plane held just 35 passengers and had two
propeller 
type engines. (De Havilland DHC – 8
100 series.) The lovely people asked us to leave our carry-on bags by the steps
so they could put them in the hold and help balance the plane properly. Julian
is now wondering if it is quite so nice after all and getting anxious again.
I am sure all
readers will be relieved to hear that all is well and just a little behind time
we take off and then land successfully at Bodo Airport.
Here you can spend a great deal of your left-over
Norwegian money on not very much at all. A family sized packet of peanut M
& M’s being the equivalent of about £7.90.
After a couple of hours, it was onto Oslo Airport
where Dick was first in line at the food hall, Julian managed to get a gluten
free burger, with chips and a drink for about £23, and Timmy surpassed
himself. He thought he had got a decent salad at a reasonable price yesterday
down by the museum but here it was a help yourself salad bar. When George first
found Timmy, I think he must have run away from the circus. The way he managed
to balance everything into and way over the top of his bowl was quite
miraculous. He then got back to his seat without even a tomato rolling off,
showing all the poise and grace of a circus acrobat.
Once George had seen that Timmy was properly fed and
watered, she managed to slump across the table for forty winks showing no poise
or grace whatsoever.
Next it was just over two hours on the final flight
from Oslo to Manchester. During this plane ride Julian wondered if like him the
others were hoping their suitcase would be lost like Anne’s had been on
the way out. Only, if so, he would be ever so pleased if they never found it
again and he could replace all his worn out camping and kayaking equipment with
new on the insurance! (No such luck everything turned up tickety-boo.)
Dick knows a lot about modern technology and is almost
as interested in gadgets as he is food. Yet even he was surprised at how clever
the airports facial recognition system was. It let him through regardless of
the fact that he had recently shaved his head for an Iron Man / Charity event
and looked nothing like his passport photo!
All safely through, bags collected and now going our
separate ways home allows time to reflect on what was truly a jolly fine
adventure. You don’t need to be a member of the Famous Five to arrange
wild camping in foreign places, just a member of Liverpool Canoe Club where you
can find likeminded, adventurous paddlers. However, a tip from Julian –
try to find someone like Anne to coordinate and organise. Anne did a jolly
splendid job for us. Thank you, Anne. It was a pleasure sharing my ginger beer
with you.
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