Safe Return Doubtful

This record breaking Arctic summer continues as it has, hit and dry. In the far northwest of Norway they have had hardly any rain since the start of May. This spell was predicted to break a few days ago, but the high pressure resisted. Yesterday it reached 28C in the late afternoon and didn’t drop below 20C all night. Roja could t sleep in the van, so resorted to staying outside with the side door open. There was a breeze, but it was intermittent. Even with all the windows open it was unpleasant. It’s a cooler day today as there’s a bit of cloud, but the warm weather here is forecast to continue, after a shower of rain early in the week. Those residents with businesses in tourism are happy as the season has been extended. Those on holiday are happy too. Interestingly, a few of the visitors from the rest of Europe have come here because further south it has become very hot in August, but now that is the case here as well. 

Personally I am looking forward to autumn. The heat afternoon does not inspire movement, shade beckons. And I don’t sleep well with such warm nights. 

Yesterday I drove for a couple of hours to the large island of Kvaløya, reachable by a bridge from the mainland at Kvalsund. That meant 50 kilometres or so on the main E6, but as soon as I left it the traffic was considerably less. Kvaløya is about 350 square kilometres and its population is centred around the town of Hammerfest, which has a population of just under 8000. It claims to be the northernmost city in the world, and is visited by many cruise ships throughout the year. The town of Honningsvåg is further west, but to the north of Hammerfest, and recently has laid claim to be the most northern town in the world, solely because it has recently met the Norwegian set criteria of a town being more than 5000 residents. 

My destination though was not either, but the island of Seiland, off the west coast of Kvaløya, which has just 120 permanent residents. The attraction for me was its National Park, the most remote in Norway. It has the features one might expect, precipitous mountains descending dramatically directly to the sea, flower meadows at altitudes above 300 metres, and the European mainland’s two most northerly glaciers. It is accessible realistically from two points, Altneset on the south side, reachable by a passenger ferry from Hammerfest, or Kjerringholmen on the west coast, reachable by a six vehicle ferry from Akkarfjord, ten kilometres or so south of Hammerfest. I chose the latter, and made the ferry, which runs about four times a day at this time of year, with some time to spare. It’s only a ten minute crossing, and then a 20 kilometre drive on a road with incredible views around several fjords to Hønseby, where the majority of the community live. 

I was in need of drinking water, which I had neglected to fill up with earlier, so I asked at the shop of the small marina. The shop is run by a Canadian lady, who has lived here for twenty years since she married a local guy. Their family, three boys, are now in the late stages of school and university. She was really helpful and pointed out an excellent place for the van, just at the start of the hiking trail.

The Canadian woman and her husband have a successful tourist business which they have expanded over the last ten years; three self catering cabins, and two bigger lodges.

They mainly attract visitors for sea fishing, and offer the necessary  boat hire as well, though at present the guests were from a variety of places, Estonia, Poland, and Finland, the latter, where the majority of tourists are from at this time of year. 

Roja and I explored the bay as the heat of the afternoon lessened, and today we hiked the couple of hours into the National Park itself. 

For such a small place, just a cluster of mostly empty houses, Hønseby has a good buzz to it, chiefly because of the shop which has seating inside and outside and operates as a cafe as well, offering get-togethers for the community like Saturday waffle breakfast, and barbeques from time to time.

Having said that, it is extremely quiet. Reindeer wander on the road, basically anywhere they like. The hike into the National Park is quite a popular one also, with visitors coming to the island especially to do it. Yesterday I chatted with a couple who had just moved to work in Hammerfest, last week, from Oslo, and were exploring their outdoor opportunities. Of course it’s a very different place in the winter.