A Reunion with The Bumbles, Alta, Norway

Zagan the motorhome is looking after his slightly delicate companions in a small parking area, among the trees next to the Alta river, just south of Alta (N69.93257, E23.26260). Slightly delicate because yesterday we had a reunion with the King and Queen of wild camping, Joanne and Craig from Our Bumble Blog, and, well, you know what we’re like when we meet folks!

Zagan is loving Norway, so many places to stop

But first let’s take a step back up North to Nordkapp.

The weather at the North Cape had cleared and the blue skies tried to tempt us to stay longer. They very nearly did, especially after we’d spotted a second pod of whales in the seas below, an amazing sight. The weather forecasts were all saying the rain was on its way back and would be there before 6pm, so we packed up, said farewell to Richard and Jenny, again – knowing we’ll see them soon and headed off.

There is more to see on Mageroya Island than just Nordkapp

Not far down the road we spotted two lads hitchhiking, who I recognised after watching them set off earlier on their long boards, not a sight you see every day. We pulled in and picked up Peter and Kamil from Poland. It turned out that we’d spotted their tent earlier, pinned down by huge rocks, sheltering from the storms by the visitors centre. They told us how it had taken four men to set it up in the wind, but they only spent six hours a night in it because as soon as the visitors centre the darkened Cave of Light exhibition area provided very comfortable sleeping space.

Peter and Kamil long boarding their way around Europe

We chatted with them as we drove 100 kilometres or so to the beach at Skarvberget, where we had built our stone tower and added to growing collection of stones inscribed with others adventures. It had taken them two weeks to hitch to Nordkapp from Poland, faster that us. As students on their summer break they are doing this trip in a budget, which is hard when you consider a sandwich at Nordkapp was 150Nok (about £15), which is a day of working at minimum wage in Poland. As we got settled in for the night by the beach (N70.62806, E25.33407), Peter and Kamil had a quick look around the beach, before long boarding off down the road, we hope they got a ride onto the next town and are now enjoying the sights of Norway ahead of us.

Zagan waiting for the rain in Skarvberget

Jay gets in a spot of fishing and catches another fish!

Massive waterfall behind our parking spot was all but ignored by the passing coach parties.

After a good 12 hours of sleep, which was needed to recover from a sleepless night at Nordkapp, we set off for a reunion with Joanne and Craig in Alta. With Jay driving we hugged the coast, this time as we hit a slight problem as we emerged from the narrow tunnel I drove us through a couple of days before, now known as Scary Tunnel.

Stunning road from Nordkapp

Gaaarrhh, get out of the way you crazy reindeer!

Turning inland we passed miles and miles of dead trees, they reminded me of the images we used to see about acid rain. I’ve no idea what caused it, but it was a sad sight to see. Onward over moors that were a cross between The Peak District on drugs and huge American plains, before spotting a familiar sight by the roadside. Richard and Jenny had leapfrogged us when we stopped for the night, and slotted into the queue of traffic behind us. They pulled in a few miles further along to see a waterfall while we carried on to Alta.

Thousands of dead trees, no idea why

Inland across Norway

We followed satnav through the town and soon spotted the fantastic wild camping spot Craig had found (N69.986705, E23.306063). Joanne and Craig started their motorhome adventure in April 2014, so we lived the motorhome lifestyle through their blog while we were back in the UK getting ourselves financially set up. We finally met up just before we set off, but I was poorly at the time, so it was great to have a proper catch up with them over a box of Lidl’s finest.

Craig is the king of wild camping spots

Fish drying next to us, a wonderful view ahead and fantastic company

Craig cooked up a storm with some Thai Curry, while we swapped stories, hints and tips until the liqueur chocolates got the better of some of us. Jay took the opportunity for some midnight sun fishing and finally caught something bigger than our double skillet pan. Charlie went crazy for it, but calmed down after an hour or so, biding his time until the fridge was opened once more. This morning his moment came and he scored a fish tail, while Jay baked his catch for breakfast.

Hungover and unable to drive, we stayed put and chatted some more. As we supped a brew an Oregon registered van pulled in behind us. We all peered out of Zagan’s back window as a couple got out and wandered over to Zagan’s door. Bill and Patti Rhode have been following both of our blogs for a while and are on their own adventure around Norway (you can follow their adventure on their blog). When they realised we were close by, so popped over to say hi. We invited them in as we were all intrigued by their story and sat chatting for a while before getting a tour around their fantastic self-build van which they had imported from the USA.

Patti and Bill from Oregon

As Bill and Patti headed off to continue their journey, it was sadly time for us to get on our way too. The local LPG station was calling as we haven’t been able to fill up since Estonia (no LPG stations in Finland so stock up before you go!). We said our farewells to Joanne, Craig, Mac and Tosh, but we know we’ll see them again. I’ve no idea where it will be, but Europe is a small place so we’re bound to bump into each other again sooner or later. Besides we owe them a meal.

Joanne and Craig with their dudes Mac ‘n’ Tosh

Our Bumble and Our Tour

We had planned to head for the Sautso-Alta canyon this afternoon, then nip to the museum in Alta (as it’s free t see the rock carvings after 8pm). Flagging from a fantastic night, we spotted this quiet parking space by the Alta River and pulled in. As I type this Jay and Charlie are both fast asleep, and I’ll be joining them very soon…!

Ju x

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