Touring Southern Norway

9th June 2004 - Waterfalls and Rain!

Day 1 - 2 - 3 -4

I think we all slept well, the beds were comfortable and the rooms nicely decorated in pastel colours. At the continental buffet breakfast I discovered a new cheese, 'Brunost' Norwegian brown goats cheese, delicious! So, well filled with a good breakfast we set out on a route around the Fjords North of Stavanger. The forecast, Michael (our host) told us was 'rain later' but for now the weather was perfect.

Our route for the day, around 260 miles. the loop at the top was taken anti clockwise.

It took a little time getting out of Stavanger, the GPS got confused with all the tiny streets, or perhaps it was me... but anyway, we were soon on the E39 heading North.

The route took us through two very deep and very long tunnels under the sea, both are around 4 miles long! The tunnels dive straight down until your ears pop, then at the middle go straight back up again, at least these tunnels were multi lane and well lit, quite an experience though. Just another few miles on and you have to catch a ferry over Boknafjorden, which costs £7 each one way, and this is one of Norway's main North/South arterial road!

Tip! There are lots of toll roads in Norway, most, but not all are free for motorcyclists. Look for the signs, if it's free, drive through the auto/camera section.

Here we all are waiting for the ferry, Ebbo, Patto, Dave & John.

We stopped at a filling station in Sandeid for fuel and coffee, there were tables by the fjord (Sandeidfjorden) just behind the filling station so we took five there.

John and Patto checked out the possibilities of fishing. The water is crystal clear. Anyone got a net?

From Sandeid we diverted to the E134 to check out a road under a glacier just above Odda, It was a good decision as the scenery on the E134 was stunning. Just a few miles up the road we came to Langfoss waterfall. At 2,008 feet high it's very impressive. this picture doesn't do it justice. Note the two huts with grass roofs, the one on the left is the toilets, the one on the right is information (closed as usual)

Right-click and select 'save as' here to download an 4.73mb AVI movie of Langfoss waterfall

Just a few more miles up the road we came across Latefoss Waterfalls, the first thing your notice is the heavy spray, just as you're wondering why it's raining with a beautiful blue sky above you, then you see the falls at the side of the road.

Latefoss waterfall is one river divided by a huge rock outcrop above, creating twin falls 500ft high

After Latefoss falls we continued on the E134 joining the E13 near Skarde then headed for Odda. Our host said we could ride under the glacier there, and sure enough there was a 11 kilometre tunnel called Folgefonntunnelen. The tunnel is straight through solid granite; not ice, and what a cold tunnel, it might as well have been ice! During the ride, through, I only recall seeing a single motorcyclist coming the other way.

On the other side of the tunnel we found the toll booth! 20 crown (£1.60) for motorcycles to come through. It was worth it for the scenic ride by the side of the fjord (Maurangsfyorden), and it wasn't long before we came to another waterfall, not as big as the others but still quite a stunner.

Furebergfossen waterfall, I'm guessing at 300ft high as there's very little info on the 'net.
Right-click here for the below image as a 1024x768 wallpaper.

We continued on our way to Kvinnherad for fuel and and a coffee stop, just after Semsfoss we then diverted down a minor road, the R40, to pick up the Matre, Skanevik ferry. Unfortunately the ferry doesn't run frequently from here, it was 4.30 and we had 90 minutes to wait before it would arrive. The terminus was excellent though: toilets with hot water, soap and towels, and a clean waiting room. Unfortunately while we were waiting, it started to rain...

It's 96 miles to Stavanger, we're on the wrong side of a fjord, and its raining! Sounds like a line out of 'The Blues Brothers'

Eventually the ferry arrived and we gratefully rode on.

The ride back to Stavanger was uneventful, but wet. We were so late back we missed the 9 O'Clock waffles at Stavanger B&B and the Mikado restaurant was closed, in the end we had to settle for a McDonalds burger instead :-( Oh misery!

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