Flekkefjord - 23 July 2018

Geoff

First stop this morning was the ferry for the 45 minutes crossing to Stavanger. From there, we drove to the Fjordline terminal to change our reservation. We had planned to take the overnight ferry to Hirtshals (Denmark) on 5 August but now want to go earlier. The earliest availability on this crossing would be Sunday but we can go on the shorter daytime crossing from Kristiansand on Thursday (6.45am - eek!) so that is what is now decided. We'll now travel around the coast to reach Kristiansand on Wednesday. 

We stopped for lunch near some sand dunes. A lovely sandy beach with rock formations. Amanda had a paddle. 

A short distance away, we went to look at the Domsteinane på Sola, an ancient stone circle, completely restored ten years ago. 

The road hugged the coastline much of the way. We stopped to see the site of the Hårr graves and boat sheds (just adjacent to a layby) from mediaeval times. 

Having thought we'd left the mountainous scenery behind, the road climbed beyond Egersund and we were amongst mountains, rocks and lakes again with a long winding descent the other side. 

We called a halt at Flekkefjord, an attractive town which we shall explore tomorrow as we shall have time in hand with not far to go to reach Kristiansand. We are on a sizeable tarmaced area designated for motor homes, a ridiculous price but convenient. 

Amanda

A day of decisions and putting into action new plans. We crossed to Stavanger on the smart ferry, a 40 minute crossing. We just missed one, and there was a 35 minute wait, but no matter when you have coffee to drink and papers to read. And we were first in the queue. At Stavanger we set the Satnav for the ferry terminal. Having decided to try and change our tickets for the overnight crossing from here in two weeks time and cross over to Denmark earlier than planned, I had had no luck getting through on the phone, so we reckoned that the terminal was our best bet. And so it proved. The large and very smart building was completely deserted - there is only one Fjordline ferry from there per day, a night crossing - and the girl on her own in the ticket office was clearly very pleased to see some people in person, and happy to attend to us while the queue of people waited on the phone line. The upshot was that we are now booked on the short crossing from Kristiansand, a few hours drive down the coast, on Thursday morning with buffet breakfast included, and the clever girl calculated it so that the cost, and the fee for changing the booking - some £70 - were just covered by the amount we had already paid. We hadn't expected to get away with that.

As the Terminal is some distance south of Stavanger, we decided not to venture back into the city, but to set off south down the coast road. Of course, this had not figured in our original plans, but what a joy it has been! The early part was like a Norwegian take on Norfolk. Very flat and agricultural with glorious golden sandy beaches stretching for miles round the bay. There were even some pillboxes. We had our lunch stop by the dunes, then a walk on the beach and a paddle for me. I could have stayed there for hours! Then as we headed south, after a brief stop to investigate a stone circle, there were first rocky beaches, and then, suddenly, as the road curved inland we were in another world. We thought we had left the hair-raising hairpins and sheer drops behind us, but no. I struggle to describe it, so will quote Lonely Planet (read after the event - it was all a complete surprise!) "The road swerves through barren boulder-blotched hills with a few forested sections, lakes and moorlands before descending" through dark tunnels and round hairpins "to breathtaking perpendicular rock scenery."

Through Egersund and on to Flekkefjord, where we are parked in the town's Bobilparkering. The price - what we have paid in proper campsites - is a rip off, for a space in a large car park, with electric, and two loos between countless Bobils. But the bonus is a supermarket close by, and a pizza takeaway. Yes, we have indulged! And tomorrow we should have ample time to stroll into and around the town.