Day 12: Nærøyfjord on a Kayak

Today is a big day. We have to get on a train from Bergen to Voss by 8am, then will take a van from Voss to Gudvangen after.

The train at the station in Bergen. We arrived early enough that they were not yet boarding.

Once in Gudvangen, our hosts ( Nordic Ventures ) split us into groups with guides. Some people were leaving on half-day kayaking trips, others on two day trips. Ourselves and two other small groups were leaving for a three day trip, with the second day comprised of a hike up one of the mountains.

As far as base-camps go, Gudvangen just might be able to label itself picturesque. Also, aside from the gas station hidden from view, you just saw pretty much all of Gudvangen.

I’ve never kayaked before. Ever. So why not make the first time into a three day trip down a fjord?

On the water. We will be on the water for 4–5 hours total today.

My brother and mother are traveling with me. I’m in a two-person kayak with my mother in the back, controlling the steering.

Here’s my brother … he’s in a single kayak. The spot at the bottom is water. My phone was in a waterproof bag, but the bag almost constantly had drops of water on it.

After rowing about halfway to our destination, we stopped in a small field for lunch. Across the fjord from our lunch field was a small town, currently populated by only a few people.

The whole fjord is a UNESCO heritage site, so no new building is allowed on it. The “town” pictured below is the biggest one we passed by.

After lunch, we traveled maybe another fourth of the way to camp before stopping at a massive waterfall to refill water bottles. The water in this entire area ( even in the fjord itself ) is crystal clear and clean. Everything coming from streams and waterfalls is also snowmelt and both refreshing and safe to drink.

A pretty awesome waterfall with fresh, cold water.

A somewhat fun tidbit can be seen in the picture below. The bridge and path ( supported by the rock walls ) on either side of it is known as King’s Road. Back in the day ( as early as 1200 AD ), it was part of the road system between Bergen and Oslo ( Norway’s two biggest towns ) and would be used for the delivery of mail. However, there was not any specific mailman at the time, so mail was delivered by farmers from one settlement to the next. One farmer would receive mail from another who had traveled over on either business or pleasure and then he, when he got around to it, would bring that mail further to the next farmer over. These hand-offs would continue until the desired recipient got their mail.

I’m pretty sure you weren’t able to get Amazon two day shipping on the King’s Road.

After the waterfall stop, we rowed the rest of the way to camp. It was then time to unload the kayaks, setup some benches and tables, pitch tents, and make dinner. But … there were some sheep who thought our campsite was theirs. Which it was. So we shared.

All the sheep have bells around their necks and are pretty much free range up and down the mountain. When winter comes, the farmers have to hike up around everywhere and gather them in to the barns.

I did not get any pictures of setting up camp or our dinner on the first night, so we’ll have to leave my post here for now. Tomorrow we hike to the top of a mountain so we can get a bird’s eye view of the fjord. It’s 6 miles up, 6 miles down … and supposedly pretty steep.