If you really want to feel alive: Seek the nature! I mean, give me whatever amusement park or Disney Worlds, or other made by mankind. Nothing can compare with the great outdoors. I had the most exiting 24 hours in Kirkens, Norway, staying at Arctic Adventure Resort on the Jarfjord.
Update: My good friend from ECDL Norway, Bernt Nilsen, told me this resort is reviewed here too: National Geographic Adventure picks the 25 best new outfitted trips.
Let me give you the scenery as I go on sharing with you all:
Here you can join a Safari into the Barents Sea with the King Crab specialists, enjoy the silence of the untouched Arctic nature, try traditional sea salmon fishing and experience the Midnight Sun.
I did!! and in my excitements I don’t know where to start and how to end, but hopefully some pictures and a vid give you an idea. I mean no other districts of Norway as in the municipality of Sør-Varanger, can display such variety of nature: The Arctic coasts, vast mountain plateaus, sheltered river valleys and deep pinewoods spread over the districts 4000 Km2 (1 544 Miles2).
Fascinated by the resort and the surrounding nature let me give you a couple more pics (click all to enlarge!):
Staying in a Lavo (Sami tent) or a cottage is optional, if you ever care for sleeping when the sun is up 24 hours a day.
From the innermost part of the fjord, we went on a rafting trip far out towards the Barents Sea. I mean we are talking about latitude of 70°N, so next stop would be the North Pole. Again, let me give you a clue:
20 people well dressed. Remember my saying; There is no such as bad conditions or weather, only bad cloths! If you know how to dress right, challenging the natural elements is great fun – the best adrenalin kick you can ever have! Here is a vid, to give you an idea:
This is from when we turned home after the rafting on the ocean and while catching King Crabs for dinner. Here we made a speed of 25 knops. While we where really rafting, the team was split into two and the top speed was 45 knops – at that time the captain advised me to put the camera in my pocket :-)
The above rafting pics are taken around 7PM and the vid around 9PM. It was light as in the middle of the day. As you can see it was cloudy though, but then – by great luck – there was an opening in the clouds around midnight. So here is what my faithful readers have been waiting for: The Midnight Sun:
Left: It might seam dark, but the picture is taken against the sun and this is the lowest it gets during 24 hours. Right: From the other side of the fjord at the resort. Admit the sun gives mysterious scenery.
Yes of course, we had the King Crab for dinner and also time for relaxing in the outdoors hot tub (including skinny dipping in the fjord – 5C, 51F!). So stay tuned for the next post and by all means, scroll down to see my post about Kirkenes where the reindeers walk in the streets!
Love the driving of the raft! I just would want to live a such experiment in mu futur and I choose the indian tent!
Loved the video. I just love moving along on water. It’s a bit cold for me, but I do know how to dress properly. We do boat year round. The king crab looks yummy. I’m hungry now. What a wonderful post. Nothing like the great outdoors is right. Have fun. :)
Even though it’s still the 17th as I sit here in Atlanta, Renny, I can see you are up quite late…while the sun is probably messing with your head! :) I know you are such a fan of the outdoors and I can certainly understand why! This is delightful.
I agreed with you totally about nature Renny and it is a pity that Singapore is getting congested with too many people :(
I am glad I found peace and nature here :D
Oh how exciting! I loved the video and the all night sun! If you and Diane ever want to go on an Alaska cruise let us know and we will join you. That has to be the best cruise we have ever been on! After seeing this, I think you would really enjoy it!
hey renny! i just visited kim and followed the link here…
thanks for taking me on a rafting trip! i wasn’t even cold and i am wearing sandals today! your trip is getting me excited for ours. we usually go to a big city preferably an ocean-side city. but next month we are going to bend, oregon, to visit friends who left chicago to live there. bend looks very much like your venue. i am teaching barbara how to fly fish for trout which is always fun if you like to untangle very complicated knots!
i am glad you got away to such a neat place!
Oh my God, what an experience! JUst the location (Artic circle) is cool — not cold :lol: — bit this is quite unique. Thanks for the pictures!
I went rafting in New Zealand a few years ago, although it’s not the same direction, the landscape is a bit similar. Looks like Canada too, but you won’t be surprised! ;-)
Sounds like quite an adventure! I’d be staying in the cottage … I haven’t slept in a tent in 25 years!!
What a wonderful experience !! I so much want to see this midnight sun !
Hello Renny!
Wow, the North Pole! That’s just great! And the midnight sun! Another wow!
You really had a great adventure there Renny!
I just love nature!
wow, that is really something! you all really are bundled up but i don’t think i’d want to go roaring over the water like that unless i was bundled properly. i love crab, that dinner must have been fabulous!
Hey Renny!
OMG! What a great adventure you went through! I can understand your excitement!
Midnight sun…hmmm…were you able to sleep at all? I have never been in Nordic countries so I never experienced the Midnight sun, but now I am wondering if I would be able to sleep or not!
The photos look great and that cottage is so lovely! I confess that I am not a big fan of forests and country sites, but this cottage is absolutely lovely and I see myself there :D!
I am so glad you went through this experience, and I thank you for sharing it with us!
Have a magnificent rest of the week!
Cheers
What a fantastic trip. The crab looks amazing! The midnight sun photos are especially beautiful, the quality of light, very special. I would so love to see that. Tell me, Renny, when are the Northern Lights visible? That is something else I have always wanted to see.
RennyBA
Glad you like too Diane!
Good question: Normally you associate the Northern Lights with wintertime, although in reality they are present the year round; it’s just that we can’t see them when the nights are light as the background sky has to be fairly dark. In practice, in northern Norway we are restricted to the period starting at the beginning of September and extending until the middle of April.
Yes, nature really is amazing. Such a fantastic place.
Brrrr! I’m thinking it was a bit too cold for me, I seek the warmth in the cottage under a couple of furs with Mr Lifecruiser – at the fireplace…. *giggles*
….and don’t even mention skinnydipping in that temp!!! OK, I know, the hot tub is like being in a saun and makes it’s easier to dip, but anyway… brrr.
How cool! I think I’ve got a case of cabin fever. Been indoors waaaaay too much lately… Love the pics and am so fascinated by that midnight sun. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night now with too much light. I wonder what would happen to me in Norway? Do you ever have trouble sleeping in the summer?
it looks like a peaceful place! and you look lke you really you enjoyed this adventure, renny! :)
Hey Rennyba ! Looks like you had lots of fun ! i agree Outdoor sports are the best ! I remember i did Rock Climbing , river crossing and did paragliding 4 years back ( i was 12 :D ) but it was fun and we did camping too !
Great post and yeah sorry for not commenting , i was too busy with studies and will be more busy with studies in the near future so please Forgive meh ;]
TC :)
Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed the post and your wonderful video. However, I wouldn’t mind sharing one of these delicious looking king crabs too! The www has it’s restrictions :-(
I didn’t know that Norway was so close to the North Pole!
I like how every body has the same outer gear.
Thanks for sharing Norway’s amazing nature. I was out jogging last tuesday with a friend from bygdøy alle to huk, and one of the good things about living in oslo is you get so close to nature, even you’re in the middle of the city. the fjord was just fantastic that day, i actually wanted to take a dip! :)
wonderful! would love to experience that! the views r so beautiful! :)
What a fabulous trip you’ve been having! The pictures are excellent, especially the one with you against the midnight sun! I love the reindeer and the little cottage.
Thanks for all the great write-ups from the north. I’ve hiked out to Preikestolen, walked from Myrdal to Flåm, taken a boat tour to Sæverudsøy, and have been to Hell and back (oh, and it was cold and windy there). But now I see there’s more I need to plan on doing in Norway someday.
Sorry for being here a bit late Renny…seems like you guys had a very beautiful and relaxed trip. You are so right, nothing can compare to the joys of being one with nature, the scenery, the beauty.. no man can duplicate that :) thanks for sharing, I’d love to experience that too
It looks like you had whole lot of fun in Northern Norway and I bet it would be fun for anyone who enjoys living in outdoors. Someday I’ll have to make new visit to Norway, so that I get another chance to see all fjords and whales.
Wow, that was amazing. However, it does look a little cold for me..Next week I am going to the other extreme…..my wife and I are going to China for 12 days, which includes a 6 day cruise down the Yang Tse. 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity. Oh well, it the athletes can do it, I can do it.
Amazing the sun at night, I’d really love to see it one day!!
Great entries, I enjoyed them a lot, as well as the wonderful shots.
Have a nice beginning of week, greetings from Italy, ciao.
Hiii Renny! i think you enjoyed it very much i think Life is a game. And traveling is a part of game. so enjoy with new adventure…
Visit At:marmaris
Wow! I want to do that tooo. It looks like so much fun although I’ll bet it was really cold there! It is so beautiful what a great adventure. Keep the pictures coming.
Love and Blessings,
AngelBaby
Very Nice Article Post !!!
RennyBA
Thanks !!!