Hiking/Sightseeing tour through Southwest Norway - Part 1

So, finally, after two weeks, I am able to update this blog and deliver some fresh impressions from Norway... and what impressions!!! From the 14th to the 20th of October, I went on a privately organized tour through some points of interest in the southwestern part of Norway, with a group of 8 lovely people, consisting of 6 fellow Germans and 2 Frenchmen, or rather Frenchwomen ;)

We did the whole tour using two cars that were PACKED with equipment, to the absolute maximum at times... looking out through the rear view mirror was cancelled for the trip, as it was simply not possible.

The rough outline of the tour was as follows: Kristiansand (departure) - Odda (seeing Trolltunga and Buarbreen) - Forsand (first cabin stay and Preikestolen) - Stavanger (oil museum and city) - Frafjord (second cabin stay) - Lysefjord (trip to Kjerag) - back home

As you will see in the pictured and more detailed report, however, not everything went as we originally planned... but now enough of the talking lets start with...

Way to Odda and Camping

Our first stop on the way to Odda, just to refresh and breathe some fresh air... this is what we found:

Stone wall

Crystal clear water

Adventure Time #1: Walking over water

Some pretty angry waves if you ask me

Yup, they are harsh and unforgiving

Some minutes later, a group of rafters show up... perfect timing for our break!!!

Tough guy in a single kajak leads the way

And some action! Rafting boat nr. 1

And nr. 2 in the fight with the waves

Next highlight, just half an hour away... we actually managed to see A REAL WILD MOOSE!!! O_O

Awesome views of the landscape... here we stopped in the middle of the road to take this picture (nobody seems to drive around in Norway)

And here a picture contrasting the view from above, to show the diverse and often instantly changing landscapes and climates of Norge

This reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings

I can just picture vikings fighting and killing each other in these hills

Also very great for teamwork: building a cairn (or rather finishing one)

Further on the way: the almighty Latefoss, a double cascade!

City of Odda, shortly after arrival

View towards another part of Odda, from the little main harbour

This picture was taken just a few minutes after the two above! So we note: landscapes changing, climates changing, weather changing

Finally, at the camping site! Our camp for the first night

Looking forward to the first outdoor dinner!

The ingredients buffet for our burgers...

And this is the result of burger-building handiwork

Bon appetit, Celine!!! :)

Worth posting: The view from the camp site into the fjord...

So much for the first day of our tour! Following up next: the hardest hiking trip of my life... stay tuned! :)