Having left the off-grid camping spot behind us, we headed on generally northeast through the fjords, mountains, winding roads and ferries. We seemed to cover a lot of ground but, equally, we managed to take time out to stop and have lunch and read our books in the sunshine.

We wouldn't normally have indulged oursleves with these rest stops, but the forecast said that we may not see good weather for quite a few days as Norway was expecting to be very overcast and wet. However, as our tales will attest, the forecasters failed to predict it correctly - but, no change there, plus we were glad they were wrong.

Our journey incorporated much of route 13 (unlucky for some - but not us) which offered us some outstanding views of Hetlandsvatnet and Josenfjorden, where we jumped aboard our latest ferry. As usual, we seemed to time our arrival at the port to perfection, we hardly seemed to stop moving. The crossing was serene, beautiful with a gentle breeze in our faces.

Us enjoying the crossing - Puntsnes to Nesvik ferry, Norway

Having disembarked, we had the treat of following the road along the shoreline of Josenfjorden for a few kilometers before turning north up the edge of Erfjorden. Needless to say, our next fjord was stunning, but that seems to be standard in this part of the country.

As it approached lunchtime, we decided to stop at the next pretty village or parking area next to Erfjorden. A quick check of Park4nite showed us that there was a fuel station, shop and parking area for motorhomes around the next corner in Halandosen.

Josenfjorden, Norway

Halandosen, Norway

Having recharged the batteries by relaxing and reading our books in the sunshine, we decided that we wanted to get a few more kilometers up the road before nightfall.

As we continued to our overnight destination of Odda, we enjoyed weaving in and out of the coves along the shore of Suldalslagen, passing huts and homes with grass growing on their roofs. We continued along Suldalslagen all the way up to Nesflaten before leaving this body of water behind us.

As we left route 13, we headed on to the A134 and were greeted with the sights of glaciers all around the mountainsides around us. The temperature dropped significantly around this area, but the beauty outweighed the cold ten fold. After a short stint on this road, we were quickly back on to our favoured route 13 on towards Odda. Regrettably, as we were descending down throught the challenging roads, often covered in water, the weather had turned. The clouds had dropped in to the valleys and the heavy gloom definately looked like it was set in for a while.

We drove on to the middle of the town and found somewhere to park the motorhime so that we could explore the town on foot. It was a quaint place, most notable for it's access to the hike to Trolltunga. After our hike to Kjerag, we were keen to to take on our next challenge, but were not sure we were prepared enough for the 27km hike over rough terrain. We decided to mull it over while we ate our dinner. As our minds turned to food, we headed towards our planned campsite for the night. Sadly, it was full and was turning away plenty of motorhomes before us. We were not worried, we were fully porepared to off-grid camp again, so no worries. We were lucky enough to find a small parking area opposite some flats, there were a couple of large motorhomes already parked, so we felt that it would be ok to join them.

Odda, Norway (with the thick grey gloom overhead)

Shortly after parking, we were on to the job of preparing dinner. As we did, the family came back to the motorhome next to us. Mum, dad and 3 children. As usual, we always want to chat with others travelling as they are always fascinating. Dieter and his family were no different. Firstly, Dieter spoke with us while his children looked on. Once the first one of them plucked up the courage, we were quickly chatting, laughing and sharing dinner chat. We asked them about where they lived (Stavanger), where the kids went to school (international school in Stavanger) and found out that they were 8 year old triplets! They were simply adorable. They were amazing, and already fluent in German, English and Norwegian. They were obviously bright as a button!

They went on to proudly tell us that they had all hiked to Trolltunga that day, and it had taken over 12 hrs. Unsurprisingly, they were really tired, but pleased that they had done it. I think that they were secretly quite pleased to share their achievement with us, even though we were strangers.

When asked whether they thought we should do it the following day, Dieter quickly looked towards the heavens and shook his head. Dieter suggested that it may not be safe to do so as the weather was due to stick around and possibly even worsen overnight. So, armed with this information, and an easy get out clause on safety grounds, we made our decision to give this serious test of our stamina a miss.

They were a lovely family, and yet again, we learned so much from them. So we were sad to see them head off towards home later that evening, but got a wave and a farewell from all of them! Still with huge smiles on their faces.

So the following morning, we set off leaving the Odda gloom and Trolltunga behind... maybe next time.