I don’t normally get too excited about sea kayaking, but when my friend Lucie suggested we borrow some sea kayaks, pack a picnic and head for the day to a nearby fjord, it sounded like too nice an adventure to miss out on. The weather was predicted to be fine but cold, so we packed our thermals, dry suits and pogies and we were set.
Timing our departure for sunrise – not too difficult as it is currently about 8:45 – we packed up and set off. Nærøyfjord (pronounced kind of like nah-ray-fjord) is about one hour from Voss, so we had enough time to paddle until lunchtime and then turn around and head back again.
Lucie admiring the view
Setting off, the first thing we noticed were all the starfish! There were masses of them, all different sizes, all around the edge of the fjord. The fjord itself is beautiful. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is very narrow. The snow covered mountains rising up from the fjord are stunning!
Fjord and mountains
After a while paddling, we stopped for lunch. Lucie had brought along some Czech “boil in the bag” lunch. It wasn’t the normal unidentified beans and meat though, venison and dumplings anyone?
Cooking up some venison and dumplings
A coffee and some chocolate later, we were warmed up and ready to set off on our return trip. We passed a ferry doing the tourist trip and exchanged waves and mutual photographs but mainly admired the reflection of the snow capped mountains in the water that was as still as glass.
Ferry touring
It was a beautiful day out, and really accessible to anyone with warm clothes and a drysuit! This trip could easily be extended to last for a couple of days. We passed two campsites just in our daytime tour, one accessible only by boat, the other right next to a small town.
Reflections
In search of adventure 