While hiking Saeterfjellet above Kjekallevagen, we could see a group of large oil rigs moored about twenty nautical miles away at the island of Sandoyna. They looked super-interesting, and we decided that visiting them would be our next adventure. We found an excellent anchorage opposite Sandoyna at Steinsvagen, within clear sight of the rigs. The…
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Austfjorden
We didn’t intend to stop for long in Austfjorden as we continued our detailed tour of the Norwegian coast. But on a tender tour of the area, we explored Kjekallevagen along the eastern shore. The high-sloped basin, ribboned with waterfalls, looked so dramatic and beautiful that we just had to stop there and hike to…
Masfjorden
During the World War II German occupation, a Norwegian army unit operated from a secret base in the Matrefjella mountains at the head of Masfjorden. They had limited air support and accessed the base on foot using the old trail Stegane. Built to access the mountain farm Kringlebotn, Stegane is a remarkable feet of 19th-century…
Lindas
The narrow and shallow channels leading into the large basins near Lindas, Norway are subject to strong tidal currents, making entry difficult for larger displacement vessels at other than slack water. The entry was important enough that a saltwater lock was completed in 1908 to allow steamships to enter at any stage of the tide….
Hogafjellet
2,812-ft (857 m) Hogafjellet is the highest mountain on the island Osteroy, with great views from the summit. A further appeal for us in making the hike was several technical aspects en route, including ladders, boardwalks, bridges and staircases. We also walked under two power station penstocks, and passed three dams and two sets of…
Stamnshella
The village of Stamnshella, at the mouth of the Bolstadfjorden, has been a church site since the early 14th century. Today the village lies on highway 569, connecting Bergen to the island of Osteroy via bridges over the Bolstadfjorden and the Veafjorden. We’d driven along a portion of the Bolstadfjorden on our 2018 day trip…
Bruvik
Besides being a sheltered and appealing anchorage, another reason we’d stopped at Bruvik was to climb 1,920-ft (585m) Bruviknipa. The hike is one of the most popular on the island of Osteroy because of its fabulous fjord landscape views. The views from the top were excellent, and we also very much enjoyed the hike over…
Hardangerfjord to Osteroy
After two months of near-continuous cruising in Norway, we’d covered 640 miles and made 33 stops. Yet we had only reached Bergen, a mere 102 miles north of our port of entry at Stavanger. The Norwegian coast is a complex and interesting one, with a seemingly endless number of high-quality anchorages and attractions. We departed…
Hardangerfjord
Hardangerfjord is the second longest fjord in Norway, at 96 nautical miles long, and the fourth longest in the world. The fjord extends in an inverted ‘V’ shape, extending roughly 60 miles northeast into mainland Norway, and then running another 30 miles southeast to its terminus at the town of Odda, with fabulous scenery en…
Norheimsund
Steinsdalsfossen is one of the most popular waterfalls in Norway because you can walk behind it and out to the other side. The falls are easily reachable on foot from the harbour at Norheimsund, along a loop trail that circles the lake Movatnet. After visiting the Hardanger Akvasenter fish farm and touring Fyksesund in the…
