From Jorpeland to Bergen 10 June 2014

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From Jorpeland to Bergen 10 June 2014

Today was a beautiful day, with valleys rimmed with grey granite rocky mountains, some of which were snow-capped. Then there was the magnificent lakes, fjords, rivers with rapids and several thundering waterfalls. the area has important historical connections.

Many of the valleys were farmed where we saw lots of white-plastic covered round bales of hay/green crops in green paddocks. There was a little grazing of cattle and sheep.

We started our day in the closest camping site to the Pulpit Rock. We left about 9.00am and headed for Tau, Ardal, Hjelmeland (where we caught a 15 minute ferry), Sand (yet another 20 minute ferry), to Olen and west to Haugesund. On the way we passed many more lakes and travelled along the banks of fjords along the sometimes, narrow road. So far, all the roads have been in good condition.

The three seagulls in Haugesund's coat of arms are a symbol of its seaside location, and its fishing and shipping industries, which have aided the town's development. This is a young town but the town has important historical connections. To the north we visited the burial mound of Haraldshaugen, where King Harald Harfagre was buried around 940. Norway's national monument (Norges Riksmonument) was erected on the site in 1872 to commemorate 1,000 years of a united Norway.

We walked along the harbour admiring the beautifully kept multi story buildings. We visited the Town Hall with its interesting water fountain, before going to one of the waterfront restaurants for a cup of coffee. The sun was shining so it was beautiful.

As it was a public holiday, the town and walking malls were very quiet. The town has only 31,000 people.

After leaving Haugesund, we drove back north-east to Skare, Odda and found a roadside stop north of Espe. This was about 130 kms south of Bergen. The last 90 kilometers was dotted with many tunnels of varying length and age, and more spectacular scenery.

One of the raging waterfalls was the Langfoss Waterfall which falls into the Akrafjorden. It is 216m high and was voted as one of the greatest waterfalls in the world by CNN travel in 2011. We walked down to the water's edge and took plenty of photos.

That night, our spot where we parked the motor home was a picnic spot with tables and chairs and toilets. A German couple also pulled up and stayed the night. It was a magic spot right next to the Sorfjorden, backed with snow-capped mountains, with a couple of nearby waterfalls which serenaded us to sleep. It was awesome.

In one of Kerrie's emails she wrote to us was " Norway is certainly God’s country. So beautiful it made my heart hurt!". Beautifully said. xx We are starting to see what she means.

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