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Day Three, 29/06/01
We woke to find a flat sea and no wind, the weather had been good to us again. We had breakfast by the waters edge, packed our boats and headed straight across the fjord. The crossing was very pleasant with Richie and myself leading the way. We had a short break on the other side and then turned toward Fresvik. This was the best part of the days paddle. Fresvik lay in the center of a large bay and below steep mountains with the lower hills covered in forest.
This was our shortest days paddling and we reached Fresvik just after lunch time. A quick visit to the shop for our usual ham and cheese lunch and then off to find a campsite. With very few people around I found a couple out tending their garden. They pointed us toward a narrow strip of ground on the right side of the bay. Richie and I went to investigate and found it to be perfect.
We set up camp, our first night under canvas, at least we were right beside the waters edge and had a great view of the fjord. We even had a picnic table to eat from, it could hardly be better. We tried our hand at fishing again but this time without any success.
Day Four, 30/06/01
We had to wait until 09:00 for the shop to open for supplies for the day ahead. Once loaded up we set off in good spirits with a flat sea , no wind and a little sunshine. This was to be our longest days paddle - 34km into one of Norway's most spectacular fjords.
We headed north, back into Sognefjord and then turned south into Aurlandsfjord which is much smaller but more dramatic. Again, we watched fish jump and Davy's boat was crossed with a porpoise, this was what we had come for! Making our way south east we met the headland above Stigen where the fjord spilt in two, we went right into Naeroyfjord which is truly magnificent. After a lunch in a boulder field of , you guest it, ham and cheese we continued into the fjord. The weather changed and soon it was raining with a low mist forming. This could do nothing to dampen our spirits, it just gave an added atmosphere to the towering walls around us. We continued to paddle the length of the fjord passing the odd sign of life and a couple of passenger ferries, once again we came together to make sure we would be seen. We found a seal pup on the waters edge just below a tent, not wanting to scare it we kept a good distance. We later met the tent owners, a family also out kayaking, who told us the pup had been injured, most likely by one of the ferries.
One thing we all found difficult was judging distances from ourselves and the walls on each side. The ferries which gave us concern had miles of room to pass us but being so low we all felt a little vulnerable to their size, we got a better insight to this while traveling back to Vik to pick up the cars on one of these ferries.
So on to the end of the fjord and after a long day we were glad to see Gudvangen and a rather inviting tourist shop/restaurant with cabins for rent. These turned out to be well out of our budget, so we left the kayaks taking some gear and headed about 3km inland to find cheaper accommodation. After a cold shower , (shows how cheap it was) we headed back to the restaurant for a great meal.
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