Southwest Norway
Continuing our journey along the Norwegian coast south from Stavanger, we enjoyed beautiful views from the road.
Fjords, lakes and rivers were common sights.
The terrain here in southwest Norway is mountainous, sometimes all the way down to the waterline. Mountains require winding roads, complete with a few hairpin curves.
Below you can see a reservoir created by a dam. Motorhomes are parked nearby, their occupants taking advantage of the scenery. We will continue on the road above the parking area on the left.
A look back toward the hairpin curve Brian had just negotiated before we took a little driving break. The pink flowers are fireweed, a perennial that is also common in the northwest part of the United States.
It seemed that every curve of the road brought us a new and spectacular view.
The Norwegians are the world experts on building tunnels. They've developed this expertise because so many road tunnels are needed to navigate their rugged country with its mountains and fjords.
You know a tunnel is coming soon by the sign. I always kept a keen eye out for these signs because just before the entrance, there is usually a sign for the height of the tunnel. I was paranoid that we would damage the roof of our 2.7 meter or 8'10" tall motorhome. My fears were ungrounded as we had no problems navigating through Norway's tunnels.
As pictured below, a sign announcing its length also precedes each tunnel. This was one of the longest we encountered. The next day when we drove from Kristiansand to Oslo, 200 miles, we drove through 41 tunnels. The final tunnel was a whopper in the heart of Oslo, It had several lanes and an exit that we took to get to the camping park where we hoped to stay. (See next blog post.)
Such beautiful views from the road in southern Norway ...
The large circular ring floating on the water behind this house pictured below is a salmon pen. Norway is the largest producer of farmed salmon in the world.
Lots of small towns and villages with water features important to the culture of the community ...
Our final destination this August day was the Skottevik Feriesenter, a camping park near Kristiansand. It is located in a southern archipelago of Norway. Lots of tiny, rocky islands called skerries. Camping pitches were grassy and offered shades with some hedges for privacy. Many amenities here especially for families. A great place to stretch our legs and stay the night after a long day in the motorhome.
