Post Script

Just a quick update. The car finally arrived back in Sydney only a month after the promised date, having spent three weeks on the wharf in Singapore. This time we had learned the benefits of customs agents and everything was handled smoothly although Quarantine decided our attempts at cleaning were inadequate and sent it for a bath. Now after being serviced where amazingly they didnt find anything much to do apart from replace a cracked fan belt, and having had a few dints knocked out, mostly ones we started with, and a going over by the detailers, it's up for sale - if interested follow the link: . (I like the bit about "one careful lady owner" and "always garaged" - we resisted putting "never beeen off road")

Now as soon as its sold I2 is off to join I1 in the desert fantasy land of Dubai for the next round of adventures. On the cards is a circumnavigation of the Mediterranean once they finish the tunnel from Spain to Morrocco and then maybe a drive from Anchorage to Tierra del Fuego. Maybe we'll start a new blog too- Intrepidtoo DoDubai so watch this space. We might also see if we can condense the 32 hours of video to a 3minute post on U-Tube

Brickbats and Bouquets

And finally before we head off for a new life in Dubai, we'd like to acknowledge all those who assisted in making the trip possible and such a great experience as well as a few of those who conspired, unsucessfully to derail bits of it. If we have missed anyone who gave us support and encouragement, you know who you are so please accept our apologies and consider yourself included:

(in alphabetical order)
• Alan & Kate for hospitality in Sutton Coldfield and medical support
• Ali for hospitality in Sydney and with Phil, keeping an eye on R&A and storing wine
• Angela for hospitality in Aberdeen
• Anna & David for hospitality in Devon and taking us to the Dartington Rockshop after-party
• Annie Ong of Megastar Shipping in Singapore for dealing with the paperwork in Singapore
• Bergen International, Istanbul for finding a customs agent to extract the car from Turkish customs
• Christine for allowing I1 to take a year off
• David & Karen for proving it could be done, for arranging Edinburgh and for hospitality in Newcastle
• Fiona for being our best blog commentator
• Gail Goodman of Motorcycleservices.com for arranging the Green Card insurance when everyone else had turned us down
• Gerry for a great job looking after our emails and fending off all work related matters for 12 months
• Helen & Steve for hospitality in Newcastle
• Ian & Wendy for company, jigsaw support and forcing us up mountains in the Lake District
• Ian’s Mum for lunch at the Ship Inn at Roose
• Imran Zaki of Maersk Logistics Pakistan for great service in arranging shipping from Karachi to Istanbul
• Linda Czeng, Beijing Caissa International Travel Service for arranging China permits and guides
• Lyn Taylor for suggesting the trek and arranging the guides and porters in Nepal
• Michael for hospitality in Edinburgh and the pancakes
• Mr Li Shunhong, our guide in Yunnan for finding amazing breakfasts but not for navigation skills
• Mr Pu Qiong, our guide in Tibet for taking us to meet his Mum
• Nasir Kazmi, of Dewan Motors, BMW Islamabad for outstanding customer service and looking after the car whilst we were in New York
• Paul Craven of Steppes Travel for arranging our China permits
• Picass, Hari and Binaya for portaging and guiding in Nepal
• Richard & Alexander for support and encouragement and looking after everything whilst we were away
• Roger & Julie for hospitality in Hampton
• Stamford Plaza, Singapore for giving us a suite during the World Bank meeting
• Steve & Alexis for taking us to Skye, arranging a guesthouse to break into in Thurso and in Pitlochry and Spean Bridge as well as the ferry from Bergen
• Stuart & Georgina for hospitality in Singapore
• The guys at Holterman St Motors for the pre-departure car maintenance course
• The Man with the Van in the arctic for helping fix our second puncture near Lakselv in Arctic Norway
• The manager of the Piccadilly Hotel, Lucknow for providing tea and sympathy as well as a nice room when everywhere else was full
• The Sydney Morning Herald for giving us the idea in an article about the Asia Highway
• Vincent & Sophie for hospitality and car-sitting in Delhi

And then those who were less helpful:
• Perkins Shipping for failing to tell us the ship was a sailing a week late from Darwin
• The cops in Prague for clamping the car
• Skymate for providing a useless GPS tracking service
• BMW Alexandropolos for telling us the suspension didn’t need fixing
• BMW Tromso for charging $150 to tell us the suspension was broken but not fixing it
• The Manager, Hotel Valide Sultan in Istanbul for double booking our room

And finally:
• The best Creme Brule is in the Elephant Restaurant in Luang Prabang
• The best Margarita is in Kilroys in Kathmandu

Day 319/320 Mon 27 and Tues 28 August Broadhempston to London to Sydney

An early start to drive up to London where I2 catches a midday flight to Sydney. I1 has a brief visit to Kew Gardens, our last world heritage site before catching up on the latest news from Dubai from a colleague arriving at Heathrow. Then its a visit to cousin Roger and Julie at Hampton where various members of the clan gather for dinner and a look at some of the photos.

Finally its the last day, the hire car is abandoned at Heathrow and whilst I2 is arriving in Sydney I1 boards an uneventful series of flights to Sydney via Istanbul, Dubai and Thailand.

So for those who may be interested here are a few stats from the journey:
• Total Distance: 51,521km
• No of countries visited: 29
• No of ferries/ships: 16
• No of world heritage sites visited: 98
• Amount of petrol: 6412li
• Average cost per li: $1.67/li
• Most expensive petrol: Turkey ($2.61/li)
• Cheapest petrol: Malaysia ($0.70/li)
• Av fuel consumption: 12.6li/100km
• Av speed: 53.6km/hr
• Total driving time: 961 hrs
• No of hotels: 185
• Average total cost per day $287 (excl pre-departure costs)
• Most expensive country: Norway ($539/day)
• Least expensive country: Laos ($165/day)
• Longest stay in a country: India (42 nights)
• Shortest stay in a country: Brunei, Montenegro, Bosnia/Herzgovina (1 night)
• No of speeding fines: 0
• No of parking fines: 1
• No of times stopped by police: 2 (China and India)
• Max elevation reached: 5205m (Tibet)
• Min elevation reached: -212m (Norwegian under-sea tunnel)
• Number of rainy days (excluding UK): 11

Day 317/8 Sat 25 – Sun 26 August Broadhemston, Devon

Its a beautiful late summer bank holiday weekend so after a leisurely breakfast in the sun we venture as far as the White Hart in Dartington for ginger beer and mussels on the lawn. Dartington used to be a Cistercian monastery which was restored and turned into an arts and education centre by a GM heiress in the 1930s. It has beautiful gardens and stone buildings and although the avante garde school has disappeared it's still the artistic centre for S Devon although its future is uncertain as there are proposals to move many of its functions to Falmouth. After lunch we take Herbie the new dog for a leisurely stroll to the top of the nearby beacon lookout through wooded farmland.

Sunday dawns bright and sunny and after an alfresco pub lunch we take a drive over Dartmoor where the heather is in full bloom and the Dartmoor ponies are in fine fettle, before returning for dinner with friends of Anna & David who had driven over from Eire. All in all it was a very relaxing weekend and a most pleasant end to the journey.

Day 316 Fri 24 August Sutton Coldfield to Southampton to Broadhemston, Devon

An early start to beat the traffic and get to Southampton in time for the car to be loaded. It turns out to be an easy relatively traffic free run and we approach the port by 11am. Fortunately the place we have arranged to pick up a rental car is directly opposite the port gate and there are few formalities in delivering the car to the shippers. By now its driven 50,913km since we left Sydney so it deserves its five week sea cruise. Hopefully HM Customs won’t want to take it to pieces as they did in Pakistan.

After the usual hassle with the car rental company we pick up a fat-arsed Renault Megane and set off to explore Dorset and its world heritage Jurassic coast. We stop for lunch in Dorchester, exploring the corn market and Bloody Assizes and visit the Hardy monument on a hill high above the town. We are surprised to find that it’s a monument to Thomas Kiss Me Hardy the Admiral not Thomas Mayor of Casterbridge Hardy the Author, but nevertheless it has splendid views over the coast and Chesil Bank. It’s now a beautiful warm summer afternoon and instead of pressing on to Devon where Anna and David are expecting us for tea, we tarry in Lyme Regis where people are actually bathing in the sea. We reach Broadhempston through the maze of narrow lanes with high hedges just in time to be whisked off to the Dartington Rockshop finale concert, the culmination of the week-long music workshop led by some very talented musicians which David and daughter Louisa have been attending. The evening ends around 2.30am with some 100 participants, family and friends dancing to aspirant rock star Louisa’s rendition of Born to be Wild.

Day 312/315 Mon 20 –Thurs 23 Aug 2007 Sutton Coldfield, England

A few days spent giving the washing machine a work out, sorting clothes and a thorough clean of the car to satisfy the Aus quarantine requirements. We decide to send it back as no one in UK wants a car without miles on the speedo and find a shipping company in Southampton who promise to have it on a ship by Saturday - of course they don’t but its enough to get us in.

Cleaning and sorting done, we spend an afternoon shopping in Birmingham, buying luggage to put everything in. On Thursday we drive up to Liverpool to visit Kate’s sister and family. We all go to the newly restored Royal Albert Docks to re-live Liverpool’s world heritage maritime mercantile history and visit the Beatles Experience, a cross between a museum and a theme park in a former dockside warehouse. All very interesting but not sure we would have paid $1m for John’s gold specs.

Day 310/311 Sat 18 –Sun 19 Aug 2007 Grasmere to Newcastle to Sutton Coldfield, England

It's a misty wet Lakeland morning as we leave Fairfield cottage and drive east through Kendal and the Yorkshire dales, stopping for lunch at Hawes in Wensleydale where we dine on cheese sandwiches. Delicious Then it’s on to Aysgarth falls where a river of tea plunges over a series of millstone grit ridges and eventually to Ripon and Fountains Abbey which of course is on the world heritage list. The enormous ruined Cistercian Abbey is set adjacent to the Studley royal water park, providing far too much to see in the half hour before closing. However we visit the gift shop allowing us to tick it off the list.

Then we drive north back to Newcastle to visit Helen and Steve, Sarah, Holly and Penny (the dog) who have just returned from Portugal (not Penny). We have dinner in a fish restaurant created in a local disused church which seems to be an appropriate use for it.

In the morning we have a photo stop by the Tyne bridge, a prototype for the Sydney one and getting lost in the traffic manage to cross it three times on our way south to Sutton Coldfield via the world heritage mills of Saltaire and the Derwent Valley. Unfortunately time doesn’t permit us to detour and we reach Sutton Coldfield just as Chelsea score from an undeserved penalty. Its typical English summer weather so brother Alan and Kate have a fire going.

Day 300/309 Sat 10 –Fri 17 Aug 2007 Newcastle to Grasmere, England

Stopping at Vindalanda and Housteads Fort on Hadrians Wall, another world heritage site this time shared with Germany and designated ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire’ we reach Carlisle in time for a late lunch with I1’s aunt Joan and cousin Peter and wife Sue. It's a good family get-together with lots of news of the diaspora to catch up on.

Then it's through the lake district to Ambleside to collect the key for our Lakeland cottage where we plan to spend a week with the minimum amount of driving. Unfortunately all the directions to the cottage have been posted to Australia so it takes us until late afternoon to find it, tucked away on a hillside behind the village of Grasmere. However there’s a pub within 300m and a lovely garden with views over High Side and Loughrigg. After finding the Co-op in Grasmere we make dinner before meeting I1’s school friend Ian and Wendy who’ve driven up from Rutland to spend the week with us.

The rest of the week is spend variously in the pubs and tea shops of central Lakeland, visiting Wordsworth’s home at Dove Cottage, Beatrix Potter’s husband’s office in Hawkshead and a Dante Exhibition in Grasmere. We also find time for a spot of fell walking including Alcock Tarn high above our cottage and the Coffin road to Rydal as well as more ambitious expeditions to the top of Coniston Old Man (with John, another school friend not seen for over 30 years) with splendid views but quite windy at 8.30 at night and Sergeant Man and Pavey Ark in Langdale when David and Karen visit. We also managed to sample the local beers in the Britannia in Elterwater, the Swan in Grasmere, the Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale, the Badger Bar at Rydal, the Tower Bank Arms in Near Sawrey and the General Burgoyne at Urswick as well as as visiting the sheep dog trials at Rydal and a summer music evening on the hard pews of Hawkshead Church as well as a nostalgia trip to Barrow to meet Ian’s mum and new dachshund puppy.

All too soon all the jigsaws have been done and it's time to move on again.

Day 298/9 Thurs 8 – Fri 9 Aug 2007 Edinburgh, Scotland to Newcastle, England

After a rather lengthy detour to New Lanark world heritage site, a mill village developed by Robert Owen along enlightened principles in the early 19C, harnessing the power of the Clyde falls, we cross the border with England and reach Newcastle by mid afternoon in time for Karen to prepare for the evening’s dinner party whilst David and I1 visit the nearby pub.

An understandably late start the following morning and after repacking and vacuuming the car, we venture up the Northumbrian coast to Dunstanburgh Castle and Crasters where we buy kippers from the smoke house. Its another beautiful day although rather windy so we walk along the beach without taking the waters.

Day 296/7 Tues 6 – Wed 7 Aug 2007 Edinburgh, Scotland

After filling ourselves with Michael’s excellent pancakes we venture out in to a warm sunny Edinburgh (can this really be Scotland?) to meet David and Karen at Waverley Station arriving from Newcastle. In 2006 they had driven from Newcastle (UK) to Sydney via a similar route to ours, but in a Triumph TR4 so naturally they assumed that there would be plenty of room for them and their luggage in our vehicle. Although we had finally jettisoned our unused porta-potty without which I2 would not venture beyond the back o’Bourke, at a Pets without Vets charity shop in Pitlochry (“Oooh I’ve always wanted one of those" the lady said when Jane asked her if she could sell it), there still isn’t much space so we have to do a major repack in the middle of Waverley Station concourse. Eventually we fit everything and everybody in and make our way to Pollock Halls at the University where we spend the next two nights whilst sampling a variety of Fringe offerings.

Our time in Edinburgh's world heritage Old and New Town is taken up sampling a range of performances of varying calibre, from a disgraced former Tory politian and his misses to a few disgraceful aspiring comedians. In contrast ‘Dickens Unplugged’ and ‘Tony the Blair Musical’ are very entertaining and the ‘Rebus tour’ informative but we now know that the only thing funny about three Irish comedians is the interval at the bar and the compere. Edinburgh at festival time is Party Central with streets awash with performers of every shape size and genre, the summer weather beautiful and a great collection of coffee shops, bars and restaurants.

Day 294/5 Sun 5 – Mon 6 Aug 2007 Gairloch to Drumnadrochit to Edinburgh, Scotland

Sunday morning and we visit Inverewe Gardens, where a southfacing slope combined with gulf stream influences conspire to create a micro climate supporting probably the most northerly subtropical garden in Scotland. There is an amazing collection of plants of all types including snow gums, rhododendrons and azaleas together with exotic greenery in a large walled garden.

Then it's on to Ullapool for a late lunch at the The Ceilidh Place before a trip over the moors to Loch Ness where its raining again. No sign of any monsters as we check into the Loch Ness Lodge. Our 185th and last hotel of the entire trip is good plain Scottish accommodation but we manage to resist the tartan tablecloths and haggis on offer in the wood panelled dining room.

It's raining still in the morning as we head south along Loch Ness, stopping briefly at Urquart Castle (not on the world heritage list) on a rather roundabout journey to Edinburgh which involves lunch in Fort William, a visit to an otter and marine life sanctuary near Oban and a nostalgia trip up the winding east side of Loch Awe. As we approach Stirling the rain clears and its a lovely sunny evening as we arrive at nephew Michael’s flat in the centre of Edinburgh

Day 292/3 Fri 3-Sat 4 Aug 2007 Skye to Gairloch, Scotland

From Kyleatin we set off in pouring rain to explore Skye, calling at Talisker Distillery which is very crowded as its one of the few things to do on a wet day in Skye, and then on via pottery and paint studios on the northern coast to the main town of Portree where, after lunch Steve and Alexis depart for Aberdeen. The intrepids too set off but quickly get disorientated in the rain and mist and end up heading north and touring the Trotternish Peninsula, past the invisible Old Man of Storr, the Kilt Rock Falls where a river plunges into the sea only today most if it is going up in the gale, and then over the Quiriang with its weird basalt rock formations. Eventually we make it to south of the island past swollen waterfalls to Advasar where we stay in an overpriced below average pub.

The next morning is bright and sunny and we spend the morning exploring the extensive nature trails and gardens of Armadale Castle, built in the 1800s as a mansion rather than a fortification, on the back of the mussel trade but which burnt down in 1855. Then it’s over the bridge to the mainland and after a fruitful visit to the West Highland cheese emporium and ensuing picnic on the beach, we head up the highest road in Scotland to Applecross and on the Gairloch. It doesn’t really compare with those in Tibet or even Norway but its still quite a tortuous drive into the mist at 2000’ Finding no room in most of the inns we come across the splendid loch front pile of Shieldaig Lodge some 5kms from Gairloch. Resembling something from ‘Monach of the Glen’ it was built by a mate of Cecil Rhodes who after being paid to leave Bishop Stortford by its citizens made a fortune in Africa. We sip whisky on the terrace watching the otters play at dusk.

Day 290/1 Wed 1 – Thurs 2 Aug 2007 Spean Bridge to Kyleatin, Skye, Scotland

We spend the day in Fort William exploring Glen Nevis and taking a cruise on Loch Linnie where we see seals and porpoises before another delightful dinner of Scottish fare. Then after visiting some brochs or iron age dry stone cooling towers it's over the sea to Skye via the tiny Skye ferry and a boat trip on the Bella Jane from Elgol to the Cullins, with dinner in another railway station restaurant, this time without trains but with express service.

The boat trip is spectacular as the weather improves markedly with views to the Hebrides. There are lots of seals playing and basking on the rocks. We land at a remote bay and climb up to Loch Coruisk which hangs amid smoothed granite boulders just above the sea. The return journey is made at speed in an IRB surrounded by clouds of spray.

Day 288/9 Monday 30 – Tues 31 Jul 2007 Pitlochry to Killin to Spean Bridge, Scotland

After exploring the delights of Pitlochry we visit the nearby Edradaur distillery, one of the smallest in Scotland where unlike the big commercial ones, we get a chance to sample the product BEFORE the inspection. This makes the inspection far more interesting and we see the hand made processes in the pretty whitewashed buildings which we are then easily persuaded to buy. Then it’s a short drive westwards along Loch Tay to Killin where another pub awaits. Waterfalls – the Falls of Dochart – are inspected and the view from Queens View checked out as well as a reconstructed Crannog. Crannogs we learn are defensive iron age wicker houses built on artificial islands in lakes across Scotland. This one is staffed by enthusiastic volunteers who also encourage participation in spinning, fire making, wood carving and weaving. There are hundreds of examples which until today we’d just assumed were natural islands but apparently the iron age Bob the Builders were pretty busy.

On Tuesday the journey lies across the wilds of Rannoch moor, through Glencoe and a detour down midge-ridden Glen Etive to Fort William on the Road to the Isles. We stay in a very pleasant B&B at Spean Bridge and have an interesting dinner in an unwittingly slow food restaurant in Spean Bridge Station where the trains are still running even if the waitpersons aren’t.

Day 285/7 Friday 27 – Sun 29 Jul 2007 Aberdeen to Pitlochry, Scotland

Two pleasant days catching up with sister-in-law Angela in Aberdeen, washing and sorting out the luggage as well as lunching with neice Louise and enjoying home cooking and domesticity again. On Sunday evening we head west to Pitlochry in the Central Highlands, where we find brother Steve and Alexis where else but in an old pub with its own brewery and a splendid restaurant as well as other members of the clan. They’ve found us another lovely Victorian guest house which doesn’t require us to break in this time.

Day 284 Thursday 26 Jul 2007 Inchmore to Aberdeen, Scotland

We’ve booked the car in for its fifth birthday treat at the BMW dealer in Inverness so we resort to the bus which does a circuit of outlying sites. First stop is Culloden battlefield giving us a chance to catch up on a little Scottish history. It’s the site of the last main battle fought in UK when the Jacobite army attempting to put Bonnie Prince Charlie on the throne was resoundly defeated. They didn’t exactly chose the best place to fight as its very boggy, making their fearsome highland charge rather ineffective.

Then it's back on the bus to Cawdor Castle of Macbeth fame. It’s a splendid castle dating from the 1600s, still lived in by Mrs Thane of Cawdor, with beautiful gardens and quirky notes which appear to have been written by Mrs Thane.

Next stop is Fort George, which we were told was on the world heritage list but isn’t. Still its a large fort similar in style to Suomelinna in Helskinki (see earlier blog), still used by the British Army although not now to subdue the Scots. Back on the bus we return to Inverness to pick up the car which has been fixed and which surprisingly passes its MOT first time. Its Oz registration expires today so apparently they will accept a UK registration inspection. To our relief the suspension repairs were less extensive (and less expensive) than the BMW guys in Norway had suggested so we feel vindicated in ignoring their advice and continuing on with the journey although perhaps venturing out to the Lofoten Islands in the middle of the North Atlantic was perhaps a bit foolhardy.

Then it's on to Aberdeen over the Cairngorms and through Braemar, stopping for dinner of haggis and salmon en route.

Day 283 Wednesday 25 Jul 2007 Thurso to Inchmore, Scotland

A grey blustery morning as we leave Thurso for John o’Groats, reputedly the most northerly inhabited place on the UK mainland where we take a cruise on the Pentland Firth to see seals and puffins. The weather clears miraculously as we step aboard the little boat in the tiny harbour but the seas haven’t abated so its quite a rough trip around the cliffs of a nearby island. There are plenty of seals and a few puffins, guillemots and kittiwakes but apparently the birds which normally cover the cliffs with their nests in their millions arrived early this year before the fish they depend upon so they abandoned their eggs and moved on leaving only a few stragglers to greet the tourists.

We moved on too, down the east coast towards Inverness where we found a little inn in Inchmore just outside the city.

Day 282 Tuesday 24 Jul 2007 Bergen to Thurso, Scotland

An early start but when we pull back the curtains we can see that our ferry to Scotland is in advanced state of loading – well there’s a long queue of cars waiting to get on. So we saunter down to breakfast and eventually make our way round the harbour to the jetty where we drive on board as they hoist the gangplank. Its a pleasant voyage out through the skerries and coastal fjords, with the sky clearing. Soon we are in the midst of a calm, blue North Atlantic surrounded by oil platforms and supply ships. This must be why Norway has the most expensive petrol in Europe. The ship is Faeroese and although it doesn’t have any pyramids does have more puffin on the menu. I2 is again devastated so we settle for herring. We are entertained by Swedish and Icelandic pianists, extremely talented - must be to do with the long winter nights.

Eventually we reach Scotland just after midnight and after minimal border formalities - they didn't spot that the car wasnt British - set off in search of an hotel. We find the one we're booked into nearby but locked and barred at 1am. Despite ringing the bell and phoning them, we can here the phone ringing and someone snoring inside, can't seem to raise anyone. Creeping round the back, trying all the doors and windows, I2 finds a loose window in what looks like an empty bedroom. After only a moments hesitation, we climb in with our bags and fall asleep on the enormous bed, after having signed the register in the hallway.

In the morning whilst half way through a lavish scottish breakfast, the woman in charge suddenly realises that she didnt check us and is puzzled as to why we're here as she had us down for the following week. We're reluctant to reveal the shortcomings of her security systems so leave her to puzzle it out.

Day 281 Monday 23 Jul 2007 Sognal to Bergen, Norway

It’s raining this morning so we postpone catching a ferry along the Sognalfjord and instead head for Urnes with its World Heritage stave church. This church, reached via a ferry across the gloomy fjord, was built entirely of wood in 1030AD and was the third to have been constructed on the spot, the first in 900AD. It’s interesting to learn how its flexibility or plasticity had enabled it to withstand the ravages of time and how it had been modified to adjust to the changing demands following the Reformation. The church which preceded Ikea was flatpacked, laid out on the ground and assemble on site, possibly by a Viking with an allen key.

After buying some raspberries which grow in profusion around the village, along with apples, we cross back and travel southwest via Flam and Bekke on the WH listed Naeroyfjord to Bergen. The route involves dozens of tunnels, including one which at 24.5km is the longest and quite possibly the most boring road tunnel in the world. Still darkness is still a novelty. The hotel in Bergen, another in the excellent Clarion chain turns out to be on the harbourfront where our room has a balcony overlooking the WH listed Bryggen district of restored wooden warehouses and across from the wharf from which we are due to catch the ferry to Scotland tomorrow morning.

We set out to explore the waterfront and Bryggen with its labyrinth of alleyways and mix of timber and stone buildings, which are now utilised as boutiques, restaurants, art galleries and cafes. The evening sun comes out making it very pleasant and we find a great fish restaurant for our last supper in Norway. Foregoing the whale carpaccio and roasted puffin, we settle for salmon, angler fish, halibut and catfish.

Day 280 Sunday 22 Jul 2007 Valldal to Sognal, Norway

From Valldal we plan to catch a ferry, well really more a tourist cruise, to Geiranger, which is on the world heritage list. The ferry is quite small and only goes twice a day so we get up early and put the car at the head of the queue before going back to the hotel for breakfast. We have no problem getting on this time and it even turns up on time.

The cruise along the fjords to Geiranger is quite spectacular as is the drive onwards up the Dibbastig, a road which winds up to a lookout on the snowline at 1500m, definitely not suitable for a car with arthritis but it doesn’t seem to mind and the view from the top is awesome although the route is littered with broken down campervans.

Then it’s along the shores of numerous fjords and lakes and through numerous tunnels, with a visit to a glacier coming down from Europe’s largest ice-cap. The blue green ice and crevasses are quite close although it’s retreating rapidly up the mountainside. Soon we reach Sognal and find a little pension and a pizza bar.

Day 279 Saturday2 1 Jul 2007 Trondheim to Valldal, Norway

It’s a beautiful warm sunny day and we spend Saturday morning visiting Trondheim’s cathedral with its characteristic green copper spire and calm interior and the fort above the town which is full of Trondheimites sunbathing in the unaccustomed weather. Unfortunately there’s no time to linger as we still have a long way to go. It doesn’t look far on the map but there’s lots of fjords and glaciers in the way and we only get as far as Valldal, a small town on the edge of the Norddalsfjord, one of the prettiest fjords in the appropriately named Fjordland region, where we find a pretty hotel near the ferry.

Day 278 Friday 20 Jul 2007 Notvann to Trondheim, Norway

A long drive today south to Trondheim, through forests, past lakes and across lots of rivers. It’s the longest drive of the entire trip since Australia, much of it done at Norway’s ridiculously low speed limits. It seems anytime there’s a house within 50m of the road, or a junction with a logging track they put a 50km/hr speed limit. Perhaps they are concerned about the wandering moose as everyone drives at 10km below the speed limit. However, despite the speed restrictions, the roads are generally quite good, with the smoothest surfaces we’ve encountered which is fortunate given the arthritic state of the car’s suspension, but are entirely single carriage way, with campervans and caravans outnumbering cars by at least 2:1.

We decide we’ve had enough of ferries and islands so take the inland route, stopping at the Arctic Circle where in contrast to Finland who’ve cornered the market, there’s not a Santa in sight, just an overpriced souvenir shop. You’d think there would be a limit to the number and range of arctic circle souvenirs but there isn’t.
A bit later on we visit Mosjoen, a town with a precinct of old timber houses and warehouse buildings mostly restored as art galleries and cafes. We stop for lunch at one which resembles the village store 40 years ago and enjoy local specialities of barley and sausage soup and a range of different breads.

Then it’s back on the road, for another 400kms, pausing only to visit a rather spectacular waterfall, not high just BIG and wet. We reach Trondheim by 8.30 and find the Clarion hotel in the city centre where we are quick to take advantage of the help yourself supper which along with DVD player and internet is included in the room rate.

Day 277 Thursday 19 Jul 2007 Svolvaer to Nottvan, Norway

The plan for the day is to drive to Borg, two islands further down the Lofoten chain, where there is a Viking museum in a recreated chieftain’s hall and then return to Svolver in time to take the 2pm ferry back to the mainland. The Viking long house, which is the largest in Norway, discovered in the 1980s, has substantial rooms housing active exhibits of crafts, archaeological finds and an exhibition detailing the Battle of Hastings as portrayed in the Bayeux Tapestry – the connection is that the defeated King Harold was a viking (as of course you knew). Theres’ a lamb stew being prepared over a very smoky fire and a woman with a baby weaving. (We’re not sure if the latter is an exhibit). We drag ourselves away from this fascinating place which dates back to 900AD and forego joining a raiding party on the viking ship on the fjord as we don’t want to miss the 2pm ferry back to the mainland.

So you can imagine our annoyance when the ferry arrives and only has room for half the vehicles in line. Another is due at 3.30 so we think we’ll still get to our destination in time – no such luck – it arrives, fills with a few cars and departs without us! The 4.30 fails to materialise, so the next option is 7pm which actually doesn’t turn up till 8pm – several irate people of various nationalities are by now plotting their own viking raid on anyone associated with the ferry company. We leave the car in the queue and walk back to the town centre for late lunch/early dinner and return in time to pay the usual ridiculous amount of Norwegian kroners for the privilege of wasting 6 hours and having our schedule put seriously out of whack. It costs us more for the two hour crossing than for the return voyage to Sardinia, or across the Adriatic from Croatia to Italy. As with the $70 tunnels we suspect Mac Bank is running the ferry business too.

Nevertheless its a beautiful evening cruise through spectacular mountianous islands and eventually we reach the mainland in bright sunlight at 10.30pm. However there's now with little prospect of making it to Trondheim 800km south so opt for a cabin on a camp site by a lake which we reach just before midnight.

Day 276 Wednesday 18 Jul 2007 Andenes to Svolvaer, Norway

Andenes is a windswept small town dependent upon fish and tourists, clinging to the northern end of the Vesteralen island chain, with a mix of fishermen's cottages, small shops and sheds associated with the fishing industry. After a visit to the unusual red lighthouse we drive south along the west coast of Andoy, island hopping down the Vesteralen chain, towards the Lofotens, a series of stark and rugged mountains stretching out from the coast of Norway. It's a beautiful but slow drive past mist clad mountains, fields full of yellow and purple wildflowers and sandy beaches on a deep blue green sea, speckled with whitecaps. The journey involves queuing for several ferries, although some of the islands are now connected by bridges.

We eventually reach Svolvaer, the main town on the Lofoten Islands around 6pm and after stripping the tourist office bare of brochures (and puffins), we go in search of dinner. The half empty restaurant which advertises a daily seafood buffet doesn’t have one and doesn’t seem to want our custom so we try another on a little island, where we resort to a $40 pizza and two $15 beers - Norway is seriously expensive and despite the swarms of campervans isn’t particularly tourist friendly, at least not unless you BYO (food, grog, accommodation).

Svolvaer is surrounded by steep, craggy mountains, some with patches of snow, and a harbour filled with fishing boats and tour boats. I2 buys a puffin and is mortified to find its also on the menu, with a red wine sauce, and a jumper from a pommy barrow boy. There are lots of Rubors, red wooden shacks which originally housed the seasonal cod fishermen (which the king ordered built after he saw the men sleeping under their upturned boats – this was not philanthropy – the cod fishery produced substantial tax revenue!)