The day after our hike to Kjeragbolten we arrived in Stavanger in the pouring rain. We based ourselves at Mosvangen Camping just under 3km from the city centre, so an easy bike ride.
Stavanger is Norway’s fourth largest city and is Europe’s oil capital. It’s also the gateway to the beautiful Lysefjord with its many scenic attractions including what we were there for, the world famous Preikestolen, or “Pulpit Rock”.
The town centre is lovely, very compact with quaint little streets and, like most European towns, the waterfront is the feature, so much so in Stavanger that large cruise ships dock directly on the pier in the centre of town. Close beside the town centre is Old Stavanger, Europe’s best preserved wooden house settlement, consisting of more than 170 cute white wooden houses set in cobbled streets. We enjoyed wandering through the town and absorbing the atmosphere, and both agreed Stavanger was the perfect choice of place to stay to access our next challenge – Pulpit Rock.
Preikestolen
Aside from Kjeragbolten, the other peak we had set our sights on was Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock. This square flat rock juts out 30 metres from the clifftop, 600 metres above Lysefjord and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area.
We had read that it was worth seeing the fjords by boat as well as from above so we booked a sightseeing cruise for the day after we arrived in Stavanger. The package included a 2-hour cruise after which we were bussed to the start of the track to Preikestolen to begin our hike. The bus back to the ferry afterwards was also included, but not the ferry ticket from Tau to Stavanger.
The cruise was definitely a great way to experience the fjords, with the boat going right up against the towering cliffs, and under the waterfalls plummeting into the inky sea, as well as stopping directly below Pulpit Rock so we could get the full perspective from below.
The squally weather didn’t make for the most pleasant time on the water, but we’re starting to get used to enduring biting wind and rain to witness breath-taking beauty in Norway. After two hours cruising we were dropped at the start of the hike, just as the weather cleared and the sun came out.
The Preikestolen hike is 8km return and takes about 4 hours including time at the top for photos and lunch. It’s a lot easier than Kjeragbolten, not nearly as steep and with mostly well-formed tracks, but there are a lot more people on this track, making it slow at times and taking away from the “wild” experience. However, the views are spectacular!
On the way back down we were caught in a hail storm that thoroughly soaked us, so we finished our walk cold and wet, and remained that way for the long journey home by bus, ferry, and then bike back to the campground. The hot showers were very welcome. Once we were warm and dry we reflected on another worthy achievement.
Stavanger to Odda
After three nights in Stavanger we took to the road once more and headed north. We decided not to stick to the coast and instead go inland for a while to cut down our journey time to Trondheim. Like all countries, there is so much to see and do in Norway, but we are keeping in mind that we still have over 2,300 kilometres to cover and there are a whole lot more countries in Europe to see and only 12 months in a year.
My Aunt Deborah’s friend Maria lives in the small mountain village of Skare outside Odda, so we planned to stop and visit her, and make Odda the first of our two stopovers on our way through to Trondheim.
Incredibly, 27 kilometres of our 198 kilometre journey from Stavanger to Odda was spent underground. Talk about tunnels! The longest was 8 kilometres, there was another that was 6kms, and another 4kms, and so it went on. There must be plenty of work for engineers in Norway. Part of the highway included a ferry journey across an 11km stretch of water. There is no option to go around, the highway simply ends at the wharf and you drive straight onto the ferry, after paying $92 NZD that is. They are currently working on replacing the ferry with another undersea tunnel.
Aside from the excitement and awe of these amazing tunnels the road to Odda had some equally spectacular natural scenery including Oddadalen, the valley of the waterfalls. These magnificent waterfalls are all visible from the main road with parking available close by.
It was lovely to stop and visit Maria and her family in Skare. Maria had been an exchange student in New Zealand in 2005 and had spent over 6 months living with my Aunt and Uncle in New Plymouth. She loved New Zealand and has kept in close contact with Deborah over the years. We were welcomed with open arms and enjoyed a couple of hours talking about life in Norway over home-baking, fresh raspberries and strawberries and hot coffee. Andrew and I had loads of questions to ask Maria and her father Arne about Norway, the numerous toll roads being the first on the list. Did Norwegian’s see them as being fair? The answer was a very quick “No”.
The small mountain village Maria and her family live in is peaceful and picturesque, and provides an idyllic lifestyle for her 5-year old son Viljar, who can safely play in the streets and nearby schoolyard with his friends, not needing to be watched over or worried about.
With full stomachs, we headed down the road to Odda, and a beautiful lakeside camping spot. Odda is a small town of around 10,000 located at the southernmost end of Sørfjorden. Over the summertime tourists mostly come here to hike to Trolltunga, another iconic rock hanging over a fjord. It looks beautiful, and it’s tempting, but we can’t be doing every hike.
As I’ve been writing this post Andrew has been crunching the numbers. Last week we came in under budget, and after 3 weeks on the road, and travelling in one of the more expensive countries, covering big distances, we’re only 4% over our budget, so we’re feeling pretty pleased with ourselves.
Tomorrow we continue our journey North.