Well that's it! We are officially unemployed and have no plans to work for the rest of the year and it feels amazing! Often the hardest part about travelling is packing up and leaving a place where you are familiar and comfortable with. Having to say goodbye to newly made friends and 300 huskies was tough but the prospect of sunshine and new adventures was encouraging.
We were lucky enough to be chosen to go on a five day dog sled expedition, each taking six of our favourite dogs through the northern Scandinavian Arctic which was a great way to finish the season. We received the biggest snow fall of the whole season in the days leading up to our departure which forced a slight change of route due to high avalanche danger. With 10 paying customers plus 2 guides and 3 of us helpers it was quite a mission to load all the gear and dogs and hit the road. It was a rather long drive made longer by getting stuck on a steep icy hill but luckily a tractor wasn't too far away to haul us up. Finally hitting the lake in the late afternoon sun with fully loaded sleds we headed to our first camp 18km away. Once the sun disappeared the temperature plummeted to a cool -14 which meant all our food was frozen solid and made boiling water a tedious task. It also meant you had to keep the beers very close to the body and drink them quickly! With the help of a couple of dogs and good Arctic gear we slept soundly.
The next day was a long 50km haul up the lake, punching into a solid head wind. As we made camp in a nice sheltered bay the cloud rolled in and raised the temperature to just below freezing which made everything much easier. After a couple of easy days sledding on the lake it was time for something a bit more challenging so upon hitting the fence which separates Norway’s reindeer from Sweden’s we headed up into the highlands. Everyone worked up a sweat pushing up through the birch before some great scenic cruising on the Swedish snowmobile trails. Due to some inclement weather forecasted we decided to camp back down in the valley so the last hour was great fun zig zagging up, down and around tight forested moraine. Our camp for the night was a nice sheltered alcove which everyone was pleased to see after 65km of sledding. We dug in our tents and made sure that the dogs were well fed and had a nice wee hole in the snow to sleep in before hitting the hay.
The weather wasn't as bad as forecasted but we still got a bit of rain which made the snow rather soft and pretty slow going especially for the front dogs who were regularly breaking through the top layer. We found some harder trails higher up as we crossed over another mountain pass before dropping down onto a lake which had only a wee bit of slushy snow and water on top. Although a few guests were nervous of falling through (it must have been over a metre thick) we raced along which was heaps of fun. As we hit the bottom end of the lake we encountered more rotten snow so we found a nice camp spot complete with a small stream with running water. After a good feed of salmon washed down with mulled wine it was time to crawl into our sleeping bags for the last time.
The temperature dropped to below freezing overnight so the snow pack was much faster as we made our way down a fantastic twisty river trail and out on to the lake for the final push back to the awaiting vehicles. With our sleds 50 or 60kgs lighter and the dogs still full of energy we boosted on the hard packed lake to complete an epic 200km trip. The potential for problems when you have 15 sleds and nearly 100 huskies is rather high but other than a couple of tipped sleds and a chaotic 20min each morning when starting the very excited dogs everything went super smooth.
The very multi cultural suburb of Gronland in Oslo was a bit of a culture shock after our isolated wee cabin in the woods but was nice and handy to the train station and within walking distance of the South African Embassy where we were destined to obtain a visa. After submitting our paper work it was a nervous wait to see if they would process it before they closed for Easter. Making the most of the stunning spring day we hopped on an old sailing ship for a two cruise around the harbour and fjord before climbing up the famous but overrated opera house.
As there was no point dwelling on the visa issue we headed further south to Fredrickstad where our kiwi friend Matt lives. Spring was in full swing and made for a pleasant afternoon bike ride through the old fort and out to the coast for a couple of quiet beers before tucking into a hot chicken and rum’n’cokes. With access to a couple of bikes we explored the local trails which are used for cross country skiing in winter although this year didn't see a snowflake. Making the most of the sunny weather we thought a night in a tent at the local summer hangout and national park was a good idea, maybe we were a little optimistic about the temperature which wasn't helped by a stiff ocean breeze and lack of fire due to an over zealous, self appointed caretaker but the fresh air, as always was good for the soul. Upon return we got amongst the local football scene by supporting the local team from the comfort of a university staff room overlooking the ground though they could only muster a 1 all draw.
Now should I tell the South African visa story or not? Actually it's not terribly exciting and in short a typical case of very lazy bureaucratic nonsense that we will no doubt get very familiar with over the coming months! Anyway we managed to obtain the visa before easter which allowed us to make our way south to Copenhagen via Gothenburg.
Gothenburg is a big old, Swedish industrial city which has seen a lot of gentrification and now boasts some grand old buildings, excellent cycle infrastructure and some great parks. We grabbed a couple of city bikes for only €2.50 and set out exploring in cold but sunny conditions. Most of the cycle lanes are completely separated from the road and footpaths and had spring flowers just appearing. Likewise in the huge central park which even had penguins, moose, seals and various farm animals. A good Swedish craft beer and a sauna topped off a nice stay. We chose a good day to bus to Copenhagen as there were, much to our anguish, a few heavy as snow showers which would have put a dampener on our ramblings.
Copenhagen lived up to all its hype. The hostel and city were rammed with tourists for the easter break so it was a lively atmosphere. Having had a couple of cheeky vino’s the night before it was a cold, slow start out on the city walking tour. As always it was very informative with our Indian guide full of history and wise cracks. Fire was probably the biggest contributor to the cities architecture with most buildings built from stone with copper or terracotta roofs due to all the earlier wooden buildings burning down. The open and trusting nature of the Danes was nice to see. We could just walk right through the middle of the parliament building and royal palace and didn't even see a security guard. The number of bikes is truly astounding and we quickly learnt that you had to be very careful when stepping off the footpath not to collide with cyclists. It was a perfect spring day to just wander the city and take in the sights.
We had an interesting walk through Christiania where hippy squatters took over abandoned military buildings in the 70’s and formed a pot smoking, free living community. Even today weed and hash is openly sold on the pusher street though now controlled by the hells angels. We had a very fun dinner at this huge street food hall which had all sorts of gourmet morsels. We opted for Brazilian BBQ meat feast and a pulled pork burger with curly fries washed down with a seriously good strong IPA that nearly blew your socks off.
Easter Monday was a chilly affair with the sun out but temperatures hovering around the 3 degree mark. This made for brisk walking through the botanical gardens and other respective sites. We skipped the Queens palace complete with the royal jewels and nearly the Denmark national gallery as it was closed on Mondays, however much to Lucy's delight it opened in an hours time due to it being Easter, Nick chose to save his money and skip this but did sort some pretty epic sandwiches for lunch. After another very chilled wander through Christiania and another IPA we had packed up our packs and were prepared to depart Europe!
Have I ever informed you how much I hate banks? Well the last thing we had to do before we left was to obtain a fair whack of US dollars for Africa. It proved to be a nightmare, in Norway the banks don't really do money they are just stalls and everything is done online so we were stuck with foreign currency bureaus. Anyway after visiting a number of these we had to bite the bullet and their horrible exchange rates and commission and pay about $600 nzd and in fees. Talk about a rip off Trev! (Was very sad to hear of the passing of John Clarke by the way).
Although still bitter, we made it to Cape Town without any bother and now have to quickly adapt to life on a huge truck with twenty other soles and get our deathly pastie bodies used to the heat and sizzling sun. We endeavour to keep our loyal fans updated as best as possible throughout our next four month adventure north through Africa but we will just have to take life as it comes as to how frequently this is. Take it easy, over and out.
