We are now heading for Nordkapp, the northernmost point which is accessible by road, in the European Continent! Having left Tromsø we are heading northwards into the land of the Sami (native people) and their reindeer. We will be very excited to see reindeer, since the only wildlife we have seen so far are one moose (Elk, Elg), 2 deer, and a fox.
This is a traditional Sami sod hut. It has a framework of birch poles covered in sod. The top is open to let out the smoke of the wood stove they had inside. This one looks as though it has been lived in, although they seem to be set up as roadside souvenir shops, also selling reindeer meat and leather goods.
And Yes! Reindeer crossing the road...these are domesticated, some with ear tags and others with bells around their necks. They look as though they have very large eyes, but it is just colouring.
So that's another one crossed off the bucket list!
The countryside still has magnificent fjords -check out where we slept last night!
28 June
We are almost at NordKapp! We reached the island it sits on around 10 pm, and with the sun still high in the sky we decided try again to view the midnight sun. We wanted to see the sun dip to its lowest point without going below the horizon. So we found a north facing point and waited. Unfortunately the clouds came in again! We could see roughly where the sun was and we were quite sure by midnight that it had not gone below the horizon. In fact it was still very high - like about 4 pm at home!
This is a picture of NordKapp taken at exactly midnight! You can see where the sun is, roughly.
The landscape up here is described as "Tundra". It is treeless, covered in very low ground cover including lichens and mosses, and some flowering plants.
It is reindeer country, and they are everywhere. It is said that their areas are overgrazed and their lichens are Disappearing! They are often fed isupplementary pellets n winter, so the numbers rise higher than the land alone would sustain.
This little fellow felt a little overwhelmed by perhaps his first close encounter with motorhomes.
29 June 2015
We made it to Nordkapp! So have a few others, but I'm sure I don't know anyone else who has been here. The place is full of history with Russia just over there....we can see it...
And numerous WW11 stories of this area. There is a radar beacon here - no doubt monitoring Russian ship movements, and more recently oil rig movements!
This the actual Cape, with its globe monument!
And here we are! WOW!
Now we head south easterly, heading for Kirkeness, on the Russian border. We will have to be careful not step over it!
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