THE ONLY WAY IS SOUTH

Well the title says it all - sat as I am up here at the Nordkapp - the tip of the island of Mageroya in northern Norway and as far north as you can go by road in Europe. Tomorrow I will walk out the 6 miles or so each way to the true tip of the continent but for now am content to enjoy this remarkable spot. 
My journey from central Sweden mostly followed the Inlandswagen which largely shadows the Inlandsbahn (rails made in Wales boyo!) and passes through vast tracts of birch and pine woods interspersed with clear lakes, rushing rivers and hamlets of brightly painted and immaculately kept wooden cottages and huts. The odd larger town had a shop or two, cafes and a filling station but really life out there was pretty simple. I decided not to take the 'Wilderness Road' that is effectively a loop out to the Norwegian border as I can cover much of it on my way south over the next six weeks so stopped a night in Gallivare (which has a huge ore mining industry) at a winter snow sports hotel that offered camping and the biggest mozzies you ever did see. During the day I had crossed the Arctic Circle and so was now in the land of the midnight sun - a concept I had totally failed to get my head round beforehand.

Basically it did not get dark at all right around the clock - no dusk, no gloom just broad daylight at midnight, one, two or three in the morning - which made sleeping the first night bizarre as I kept wanting to check outside to see if it was still truly daylight : it was.
A brief crossing of part of Finland put me back in the land of the Euro but otherwise there was very little change - political and other boundaries up here are almost irrelevant to a culture where until recently transhumance was a way of life - Chernobyl put perhaps one of the final nails in that coffin but despite the loss of traditional culture life must be far less harsh and enduring for the Sami people as now all the trappings and comforts of western living exist even in the most isolated places. It must be awesome here during the winter as conversely there are many weeks without daylight and with heavy snowfall - every property has huge reserves of firewood and most have skidoos parked under lean to's.
A free camp by a river south of Lakselv on a warm night saw me using my mosquito net to sleep under so I could have the windows open - again the night-long daylight had me astounded but I did sleep through until 10am.
Lakslev on a sleepy Sunday morning was like a ghost town but I found the ATM for some Norwegian currency and headed out to Havoysund after initially following the Porsanger inlet of the Norwegian Sea.
This remote town is cut off for much of the year and each day at set times snow ploughs set off with private vehicles in a convoy with another plough at the rear to try to get through as the road climbs high above the Revsbotn inlet to reach the fishing port. During my visit a huge storm which I had watched drifting in all day from the south arrived and as I hunkered down by the river at Selkopp I was again very appreciative of the van's strengths and comforts and tucked in to some of the tinned and dried food I had brought with me - food in Norway is at least twice the price of the UK : a loaf and a pot of yoghurt setting me back £7!
The weather had settled for a while (enjoy the heatwave you guys back home) as I rejoined the Porsanger inlet before stopping at the site of the old ferry across to Mageroya - the views were reminiscent of Western Scotland - add in a CalMac ferry and it would have been a twin. The dense forest cover way south had slowly given way to smaller trees and now even these were absent apart from low down by the waterline. Amazingly though there were a few small flocks of sheep and probably the most northern cut of silage being taken - having the sea so close keeps this area slightly warmer than inland northern Norway and Sweden but all things are relevant. In fact it hasn't got that cold yet as of course even if it's not actually shining the sun is still there round the clock lifting the temperatures - so up to 20 Celsius if it emerges and no lower than 10 if hidden.
The old ferry has now been replaced by a combination of tunnels and bridges - the Norkapptunnel being the longest structure at just over 4 miles and plunging nearly 700 feet below sea level with a 1:8 gradient down and back out again to get under the deep sea bed. It was an amazing experience and passing the occasional cyclists reminded me of my ride under the Himalayas to Kashmir almost 30 years ago. Most of the traffic was other campervans or caravans, motorcycles and a few cars all heading for or from the one destination and I have to admire the cyclists as the road despite being very well engineered had some long challenging climbs and a very strong westerly had come howling in. The port of Honningsvag was dominated by the new Queen Elizabeth, lying majestically at anchor at the furthest point of a two week cruise up from Southampton, which dwarfed the fishing vessels and even the Hurtigruta vessel also at anchor - one of a fleet of 14 that conspire to provide a full daily service from Kirkenes to Bergen - a journey of a fortnight. I took a wander round town and even saw a big Cat fishing before heading out as the weather closed in. There seemed little point heading out to the Cape in such conditions especially as the several thousand QE customers would be milling around so I took a side detour out to remote Gjesvaer on a road that passed through pure wilderness inhabited only by skittery herds of reindeer.
A cyclist battling the heavy rain and dangerous winds was grateful for the offer of shelter, coffee and biscuits - he was on a 6 week tour from Stockholm and recommended the wild country over to the Russian border for another visit - maybe.
Finally with conditions as bad as ever I decided to stay at Europe's most northerly campsite in Skarsvag - with a hook up as a bonus and welcome hot showers - humbling to reflect that 6 months ago I was staying on Europe's most southerly site prior to crossing to Morocco and exciting to think that with luck I will be there again in another 6 months for a longer return visit. Both sites were the same price - around £16 and it was money well spent here as the most ferocious winds had picked up - it must be unbelievable here in mid winter.
So today under cloudy skies I have finally made it after some 3000 miles from the UK - even the short way back is going to be over 2000 - and it is a very special place. Despite its popularity there is no getting away from the sense of being on the edge of the world - something I last really felt at Slope Point in New Zealand's South Island - and I sensed some of the spirituality felt almost 3 years ago stood on the northern tip of NZ's North Island's Cape Reinga where amazingly there was nothing between there and the North Pole which now lies across a similarly empty span of water. It is a cause for reflection on life's changes since then and as I head south I feel it is time to enter a new chapter  - as ever no idea of the plot or the outcome but no doubt a report will appear here at some stage.
So piccies to enjoy as always are to found by clicking here and my meander south should crop up here. I will linger in this area tomorrow as well in the hope that the cloud cover will break and anyway it has been good to have a break from the driving. The £20 admission fees is steep for a day visit but actually allows you to camp here two nights, there are good facilities over in the centre and with no urgency to any of my plans it will do very nicely - perhaps the biggest dilemma is which tin of Tesco value curry do I open and shall I risk the tinned fried onions? Emails on the pros and cons very welcome!