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| Morning view near the campsite |
Yes, we really loved this spot
and are back again!
This morning was a domestic
morning, with the availability of plenty of water and Yngve happy for us to
wash the van, Ian was out there getting rid of all the grime that Ruakiwi had
collected over the past 2 ½ weeks. I filled a bin with water and soap liquid
and gave the towels and other bits and bobs a good wash. We strung a line up and
hung them out in the breeze for a few hours to dry. Took myself off for a walk
with my camera down the road and enjoyed poking around the rocks, even picked a
little bunch of wildflowers and popped them in a glass jam jar….getting really
domestic!!. Yngve popped back to catch up with us before we left. So it was just before midday when we set off
and the clouds had cleared into a really nice day.
We really hadn’t seen much of
this island so decided to do check it all out before heading onto the next
island. Really enjoyed the drive, taking some of the side roads, and once again
came across some really varied scenery. On the north western coast there was a
lot of open grass lands with a number of sheep. Ian is so impressed with the
size of these sheep, and we noticed how much milk they had, so no wonder their
lambs were doing so well. He suspects they may be East Friesian???
We meandered along the roads,
stopping to check out the views. Back on the main road we called into a Viking
Museum, but decided that it was a real tourist trap so passed on that. We drove
down to Ballstad which is at the end of a peninsula on the southern coast and
was quite a big working port with huge dry docks. Had a good look around then called
into a rather nice looking church high on a hill overlooking the coast. It was
of wooden construction, and didn’t look that old, but sadly it was locked so
couldn’t look inside. Then onto Stamsund, another smaller port, they are such scenic places with all the boats
and the brightly coloured buildings.
This afternoon it got quite
warm, up to 15 degrees with a lot of sun and clear blue skies. We had almost circumnavigated
the island, and it was getting close to 5pm so decided to return to last night’s
camp spot. It was such a relaxing place and very quiet. Not long after we
arrived, Yngve popped across, smiles all over his face to see us again. It was
just so warm and sunny so we pulled out the chairs and sat in the sun and he
joined us for a drink. After he left, it started to get a bit cooler, but we
were determined to be outside until the sun went down behind the hill at about
7.30…so put some more layers on! A very clear night tonight, although rain is
predicted for a few days early next week. We must make the most of it.
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| Washing time for Ruakiwi, no car washes on the island! |
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| Spotted these fishbones in the moss on a rock |
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The other side of the island was much more open, with quite a bit of farming.
Our lunch stop. |
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| Amazing mural on the dry dock building |
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View across to Ballstad, the mountains seem to rise straight up from the sea.
Somehow look a bit like "Lord of the Rings" country. |
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| Yngve |
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| Keeping warm in the Arctic! |
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| A bit of an idea where we have been for the past few days. |
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