Away from the crowds at Morfjorden

Zagan the motorhome is having a day off. He’s holed up by sand dunes at Morfjorden Nature Reserve, as the clouds have crept down the mountains around him, bringing the sky to almost within touching distance (N68.40911, E14.67540).

We had amazing views yesterday!

The viewpoint we’d chosen to sleep on was a popular one, even while I tried to sleep I could hear a caravan being cranked into place next to us. When we woke the following morning our crossed fingers had worked their magic in the night – the cloud had lifted and the sun was shining. Now we could truly see what all the fuss is about.

Cloudy day…

…sunny day. You can see why we have our finger crossed for good weather?

We climbed back up the boardwalks to the viewpoint and supped a brew admiring the views. Meanwhile coaches arrived and departed, a group of Austrian motorcycles with Chinese riders popped by, and all our neighbours headed off.

Ater a spot of breakfast we headed back into Svolvær and parked up. We wandered around amazed by the sheer number of motorhomes in this one small town. As we discovered yesterday, this is the first place you can get diesel on the island and, as the administrative centre, has a tourist office as well as the best range of shops. We took full advantage and had a look in quite a few of the shops, before following several deep base vroooms that heralded a Harley Davidson meet taking place. The arena was free to go in until 6pm, so we had a look around. It was lined with stalls and in the middle plenty of seating, they’ll need it as the beer is 50 Nok (a fiver, presumably for 500ml) – the cheapest we’ve seen for a long time. The meet is on until Sunday, so we figured we’ll head back over the weekend when its in full swing.

There are bikers here from all over Europe – we’ve spotted Russian, Spanish and German so far.

Any idea where the ladies is?

While in the big smoke, we treated ourselves to a new toy. Richard and Jenny have been using a portable gas camping stove for cooking outside, a fantastic idea, so we’ve grabbed one too. Now Jay can cook all the fish he is catching outside and stop stinking up Zagan! There are also loads of picnic places where we can park up, shove it on a bench and cook some lunch al fresco, and it means we can still cook even if we’ve run out of LPG.  We have got a charcoal BBQ in the van, but as most places ban using them in the summer it’s still in its wrapper. I wish we had thought of getting one sooner, as in when we were in the UK, because in Norway they are twice the price…

The Svolævrita looks down over the own and is supposed to resemble a goats head and horns – you’re supposed to jump between the two, but it looks like a ladder has been added

This stuff only comes in really small bottles, so should be cheap – err not (55 Nok is £5.50)!

After topping up with LPG we got a text from Richard and Jenny who had found this place in the sand dunes. With the sun beating down it was an invite we couldn’t resist, so headed back up the road to join them. The drive this time was so much more impressive than the day before, as the sun shone and bought this Lofoten island to life.

More Harleys heading for the meet

Is that the last we’ll see of reindeer on the road?

Last night we had fish, caught and cooked by Jay, and chips with Richard and Jenny. All washed down with a suitable amount of beer and wine. They are fantastic company and as the sun set (well went behind a mountain, as it still isn’t properly setting here yet) the four of us and the two pooches went for a stroll in the sand dunes of Morfjorden Nature Reserve.

Today we awoke to the low clouds, and the weather forecast isn’t looking great for the weekend or next week either. At first I was a bit down, but then I remembered – we don’t have to be anywhere any time soon. Richard and Jenny headed off to see some Vikings (I kid you not) while we decided to stay put today, clean out Zagan and chill. With limited fish catching opportunities Jay has moved onto shellfish, tonight’s tea (for him) coming from the fjord as the water receded. Other than that another couple of walks among the dunes was as energetic as we got, but it meant Charlie got to stretch his legs and is now snoring on my feet.

If you know how much beer costs here, you’ll know what good friends they are.

Jay’s tea

Charlie loves a sand dune

No idea how these tiny flowers survive the harsh winters here

What stick? I didn’t bring back a stick.

Ju x

Planning your own motorhome adventure to Norway?
You’ll find loads of tips in our free guide to Touring Norway by motorhome.

New to motorhome life,
planning your own motorhome adventure, or
looking for the perfect gift for the motorhomer in your life?
Check out our OurTour range of books.