Monday, 10 May 2010 00:00 Last Updated on Thursday, 20 May 2010 23:35 Written by Billy van Graan

Total Distance: 32350km

Today we did the very short drive of plus minus 40km to Nordkapp, the most northern point of Europe. After nearly six and a half months on the road and 32350km we finally made it. The short drive to Nordkapp was a spectacular drive to the finish through some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever laid my eyes on. I reckon in summer it will still be nice but the snow is what really made it special for us. We might have missed a lot of Norway cutting back to Sweden to make it this far north but today I felt like it was worth it.

Before we headed towards North Cape we stopped at the supermarket to pick up some supplies. Nordkapp is not actually the most northern point although it is said to be. The most northern point can actually only be reached by foot by going the extra distance of 18km round trip. Of course we wanted to go to the MOST northern point so we stocked up on energy drinks and food for the long hike.



In Arnt's village where we stayed the snow was mostly gone and it was not as cold as it was 200km south so we didn't expect to find the whole island on the other side still covered in a very thick blanket of snow. It made all the other snow covered landscapes look less impressive when we saw how much snow there actually was. Some parts of the island were literally still covered in meters of snow.

When we arrived at Nordkapp we were relieved that because it was out of season we could just drive in without paying. Usually it is over R250 per person to enter and thus it is also known as the most northerly rip-off. What was even cooler is that there was hardly a person in sight. We decided to drive Yuki right to the iconic metal structure resembling the world on its axis so we could take some nice shots. When I was halfway to the structure I heard some dude calling and whistling to tell me to come back. I just ignored him and Claudine ran to him and asked him if we could take a quick couple of snaps since the bike was now already there. Luckily he agreed and Yuki could be in some of the shots as well.

We both had an Arctic beer to celebrate and we spent quite a while there just sitting around and looking over the ocean to the north imagining what it must be like at the North Pole. At Nordkapp you are actually closer to the North Pole than Oslo, the capital of Norway. After hanging around for a while we decided to go back to all the snow covered areas to look around and to see if it would actually be to walk to the most southern point.



When we go to the start of the walking trail it became very clear that we bought all our provisions earlier for nothing. There was no way we would be able to walk that distance in the amount of snow that was still on the ground. Check the pictures above where Claudine walks in the snow and where she stands at the information board covered by a small roof. That was meters from the road and the start. We could have tried to do the walk but Claudine didn't have any sunglasses on her and our feet would have been wet in minutes as well. After that we just drove round taking pictures and taking in the beautiful landscapes.

We went back to the supermarket to buy some pork chops to treat ourselves on making it to Nordkapp. In the evening we enjoyed chatting with Arnt again and he showed us all his very cool and very striking looking pants he enjoys wearing. He has only ever owned one pair of jeans I think because they are not so comfortable. The pants he wears have some very cool designs but don't always work so well when he has to have business meetings. I would have liked to chill out more and have more beers but tomorrow we will attempt our longest day of the trip yet. It will be an 1100km day all the way back to Umea in Sweden. Time is running out on my visa and if we still want to sell the bike and get out in time we need to get to Amsterdam as soon as possible.

Tags
Biking  Norway