The Coastal Cruise

The ship has a very efficient operation boarding system and getting to our cabin was quick and easy. Cabin is small, but I think bigger than our Scandic City Hotel room last weekend, and there is very good storage for our small amount of travelling luggage. One bed folds up and the other converts to a couch so the room is very comfortable

We then went to the dining room for a meal and to enjoy the Lofoten views as we cruised down the coast past the places we had visited a few days previously in our landlubbers mode! The seas were very smooth and the ship very quiet as it cruises along at about 14 knots. The ship is a 24 hr operation and calls briefly at small settlements as they come up on the route. Berthing and departing are very smooth operations, all carried out with the ship's own propulsion systems. The only noise is the freight and pedestrian ramps as they are opened and closed, a short disruption if it happens in the middle of the night. The ship is 120 m long and 20 m wide and weighs a little over 11 000 tonnes, but approaches and departs the wharfs with less drama and noise than is associated with most recreational skippers getting their 5 m tinnie away from the boat ramp. The 590 passenger capacity includes about 70 crew.

Many of the stops are just 15-30 minutes, so the only thing going ashore is a handful of people and a small pallet or two of freight coming off or going on to the vessel. For some of the bigger towns like Svolvaer and Trondheim the stops are 2-3 hours so the guests can pour off the boat and onto buses for organised tours and visits, or just to wander a new town. The vessel's regular route is Bergen to Kirkenes and return, some 5400 km over 12 days. You would have to be a committed cruiser to take that on and indeed there was a group of Germans who were doing just that! For us the three days is just a fantastic experience and a way to see a very good sample of all the coastal environments, the fjords, the mountains and the lowland coastal areas.

The ship's crew provides lectures on Norway and its coastal history, coastal lifestyles and regular updates on the ship's progress, activities and what’s coming up. They hold a “crossing the Arctic Circle” ceremony at latitude 66.36 N which is accompanied by dispensing of a teaspoon of cod liver oil, to all those who wish to participate. The only good thing about that is you get to keep the very nice engraved stainless steel spoon as a memento of the occasion. The non-physical circle is marked by a commemorative globe on a small island we pass as the ceremony is celebrated.

There is lots of coastal shipping of various sizes and configurations, lots of boats servicing the frequent salmon farms and lots of ferries which help to enable people to live and work on and between the islands and the coasts. While Norway is a small country it has the second longest coastline in the world, second only to Canada.

The three days aboard gave us a taste of the cruising life, and I can’t see it becoming a substitute for our current modus operandi.  But we had very smooth seas, great food and fantastic scenery. It was a really good way to get a feel for the Norway coast and its lifestyles.

And we went ashore to explore Trondheim: the Brygenne (old area) and the cathedral.

                                                    

The midpoint of the Norwegian coast at Bronnoysund.

and Kristiansund, with statues of the fisherman's wife and boy. 

There were quite a few diversions in the form of lectures in the conference room, or at gatherings on the 7^th level aft deck. There we had the Norse legends involving trolls, the seven sisters and the mountain with a hole through it. Short story: bad troll wanted to hook up with the seven sisters nanny, but nanny wasn’t interested and ran away, the seven sisters saw the troll riding his horse towards them and he was a good-looking bloke so they lined up by the shore to preen themselves and try and catch his eye. However the troll went past them in pursuit of the nanny who just kept running. Eventually bad troll decided that if he couldn’t have her, no one would, so he lined up his bow and let fly with an arrow. A good troll was watching all the action and saw what was about to happen and threw his hat into the arrows path. The arrow went through the hat but was diverted away from the nanny. The hat became the mountain with a hole in it, and the troll sisters were caught out by the rising sun and were turned into stone. That’s how Norway got its seven sisters mountains and a mountain with a hole through it. Can you spot the hole?

The Hurtigruten ships pass each other regularly and celebrate each meeting and passing with elaborate blasts on the ships' hooters.

                                      

Interesting to see the salmon farms, there were plenty, but no area was ever crowded with cages. they are moved by tugs from time to time. The industry is growing here and is a significant export earner for the country. Discussion now is how to get the whole of Norway to share in the profits of this industry. There’s debate on taxes or rent for the use of the land and water resource, that might help NZ Salmon in its export business; we frequently see Norwegian salmon in NZ supermarkets, cheaper than the local alternative.

As we approached Bergen the channels seemed to get smaller and smaller, but the views changed regularly from high mountains to low rocky islands and rocks, and more evidence of farming as we travelled south. 

We arrived in Bergen to the sight of three moored cruise ships, one was “Anthem of the Seas” among the largest in the world and one we’ve seen in Auckland harbour a year or two ago.