From Ulvik to Odda/Roldal (near Hardanger)

It rained a lot in the night, but we awoke to a blue sky on one side, and cloudy on the other.   As we drove southwards, to the ferry, the clouds low in the fjords created a dramatic scene.  As we crossed the fjord, we noticed a new bridge being built a couple of miles up; towers and cables were in place, but the deck was not yet there. Signs suggest it will be open in 2013. Considerable roadworks related to the bridge slowed the traffic down a bit, but at least the road was still open.

As we drove down Sorfjorden, it became clear that this is fruit country.  Morella (cherries) for sale at roadside stalls, and fruit trees on the slopes. Further down the road we saw an enormous cloud of spray, and a layby, so we stopped to admire the Latefoss waterfall, 165m high.  The rain of the last few days would certainly have improved the flow, and increased the custom for the kiosk owner.  The sun even came out briefly, to highlight the spectacle.

Yet further along, we stopped at Roldal - a famous stave church. Although there are quite a few of these old wooden churches around, the tourist brochures indicate they are only open by appointment now, as the summer season ended last week. Luckily, Roldal was open.  Built in 1275, the exterior wood is dark brown. It has box pews, and is highly decorated throughout. 40 Kroner to get in, and a printed leaflet in English told us a bit about the background of the church.

Although Stave churches are made much of, the ones seen most often around here are the white, wooden-built churches.

Having got off lightly with the earlier bridge roadworks, we later encountered a more major diversion due to a tunnel closure. The diversion took us along the old road which the tunnel was intended to replace, as this was not really suitable for modern traffic. There was a contraflow system in place along a fair stretch of the winding road. Further along, we deliberately took the old road instead of a tunnel.  The road was mostly above the tree line, and we stopped to investigate a large patch of snow with a hole in it, just alongside the road.  Getting closer, we could see the river, flowing along below the hole. At that point we decided it was not safe to walk across that bit of snow.

While looking for a spot to wild camp, we found what looked like a suitable patch of ground. However, when we drove onto it, we sank down into the soft sand. Luckily, we had a shovel, and we used our ramps to get us out of the hole.  Further on, we found a much nicer picnic spot, with a river, a lake, a copse, and some large rocks which screened us from the road. No signs saying "no camping", so we did. We had a really nice evening sitting at the picnic bench in the sunshine with the river gurgling peacefully by, and the occasional car passing along the road.