Monday 14/07/08                    Day 2              Norway

In the morning, our months of preparation paid off and we discovered Norway wasn’t in the eurozone!  We quickly got ourselves some Kroner before we docked in Stavanger.  As we left the Bureau de Change we were invited to help a Swedish doctor put on his trousers.  How could we refuse?

Satisfied that all the passengers were fully clothed, we made our way out onto Norwegian soil. We should probably explain that the Swedish doctor was returning to Stockholm to open a new spinal injury clinic after he himself was paralysed when diving off a pier twenty years ago. He had been in the UK to pick up a new customised BMW trike and was having difficulty with his new biking trousers.

Eager to get going we headed north from Stavanger and stopped to check out Preikestolen (Pulpit rock) which is a sheer cliff with great views of the Fjord below. It turned out to be a very popular hiking route and much further than we expected.  However, in true three peaks style we battled through the crowds to see what all the fuss was about and were back at the car within a couple of hours.

We continued north along the winding Norwegian roads and did a bit of wing mirror jousting with a Dutch campervan on a particularly narrow stretch and sustained our first injury of the trip.  Even major Norwegian roads have a tendency to go too narrow for two cars to pass without any warning!  We pressed on (with reduced visibility) and found a suitable spot for our first night wild camping at around 11pm overlooking a waterfall into a lake in the valley below, surrounded by snow capped mountains.  We treated ourselves to a beer we brought with us and soaked up the views at the end of our first real day of the trip.

Tuesday 15/07/08                    Day 3              Norway

One of our options at this point was to head into Sweden in the next couple of days to meet up with the Sweden off-road tour. This would mean our stay in the southern fjords of Norway would be a short one, but we could always head back into Norway further north if we wished.  It was also good excuse to escape the crazy prices in this country.  Travelling on a tight budget, as we are, meant that we were pretty restricted in what we could do and eat (tinned fish is the only thing in the supermarket that is reasonably priced, yummy!).

Despite all the delicious tinned fish, the decision was made to press on to Sweden and join the off road tour.  We moved inland and continued to press north, not before stopping to take a bath in one of the many rivers.  Heading down to the waters edge, poof and shower gel in hand we braved the icy waters of freshly melted snow to take our fist of many alfresco baths!

Looking for somewhere to camp that evening, we stumbled upon an old ford across a river, despite there being a bridge right next to us and the path down to the ford heavily overgrown, we of course drove in.  After hours spent fitting the snorkel to the car we are not going to miss the chance to drive though a river! 

We spotted a small island in the centre of the fairly shallow but fast flowing river, just big enough to get most of the vehicle and three tyres on and decided that would make the ideal spot to spend the night!

We tucked into a dinner of tinned mackerel and pasta and tried to light a camp fire.  We failed miserably and even resorted to pouring meths over the wood but still no luck.  I blame the wood.   

Wednesday 16/07/08             Day 4              Norway/Sweden

Taking advantage of the en-suite facilities of our chosen campsite we started the day with a bath in the icy river before hitting the road once more!

By lunch we reached the town ofTrondheimwhere, after looking round the impressive cathedral, we treated ourselves to a lunch of several kinds of herring!  Feeling very fishy and with the possibility of growing gills a real danger, we headed toSweden.

We arrived at the campsite and location of the next day’s off-road site for the Sweden Off-road Tour (www.swedenoff-road.com) to find it empty.  After grabbing a pizza at the only eatery in the nearby town we started our search for somewhere to wild camp.  We located a narrow, tree-lined track that disappeared up a mountain through a pine forrest and decided that it looked as good as any, we had already tried a couple, but with Sweden’s higher population, both turned out to be peoples driveways!  The track got progressively steeper and muddier.  Firstly we selected low range on the gear box, and then we had to put the diff lock on too.  A couple of failed attempts at a particularly steep muddy section might have caused many people to turn back and find an alternative - but not when it is the first chance to use our new winch!  Locating a suitable tree and pulling ourselves up we continued up the steep track at maximum speed, four wheels spinning, causing Al to dive for cover as rocks and mud were fired out backwards towards him.

Our efforts were rewarded when we reached the top with a breathtaking 360 degree panorama of the surrounding forests, lakes and hills.

With a strong sense of achievement we cracked open a beer and sat around discussing the best plan of action if any of the bears or wolves that live in the area should attack - a good night!

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