Part two of Nordic August was a long weekend kayaking trip in Norway. We flew into Bergen late Friday night where we were picked up by the kayaking company and driven to Voss, the starting point for the tour.

The next day we arrived at the base of the kayaking company. There we met our Kiwi guide and the rest of our group (all Aussies and a sole Englishman). We then sorted out our gear and decided what we wanted to take with us (basically what would fit). With our gear sorted, we drove to the starting point where we packed our gear in our kayaks and set off mid-afternoon. We had a long 25km kayak on the first day starting in Sognefjord (up there with the biggest in the world), along a bit of Aurlandsfjord and into Nærøyfjorden to our campsite near the small settlement of Dyrdal (just a few houses and a ferry landing). Luckily the sun was out and it was a pretty enjoyable kayak with the added bonus of seeing some dolphins and seals and the Bahrain Royal family sail past. The campsite was really nice with great views down the Nærøyfjorden. Chris our guide pulled out the wine and snacks then cooked us up a pretty good feed on the camp fire whilst we all sat around admiring the view.

The following day was a break from kayaking and we did an eight hour hike to the top of the cliff to get a view looking out across Nærøyfjorden. There was a decent climb but again the weather was on our side and the sun was shining as we walked. At the top, it was well worth it with some great views looking down the fjord. Upon arrival back at the camp site we had a dip in the fjord but unfortunately the sun had gone by that stage so the water was pretty fresh. It was fair to stay we didn't last long in the water - just long enough to get some-what clean. It was then another BBQ dinner cooked up for us with the last of the red wine (just another 7 bottles).

The next day it was back in the kayak as we packed up our tent site and squeezed everything in our kayaks. It was a gentle 6km kayak and again we were very lucky weather wise with the sun shining all along our kayak to the end. We had a slight detour along the way where we pulled up to a beach and walked an old postal trail that is hundreds of years old, it goes all the way to Finland but we just did a short walk to a waterfall then back down again. We finished the kayak in Gudvangen and then headed back to Voss by bus. We had a beer in the sun in Voss with most of the group to celebrate. We then said goodbye to everybody as they made their way to the airport and us to the hostel. It was time for a nice hot shower and to get clean again at the hostel before heading into Voss for a final beer at a pub in the sun.

The following day we jumped onto the Bergen - Oslo train ride (although from Voss). This is dubbed one of the most beautiful train rides in the world due to the amazing scenery you constantly pass. Despite not having the best seats (and a large noisy school group behind us) for the first few hours we did manage to see a bit of it. We then managed to find some empty seats which gave us a much better view. We saw a lot of forest land, lakes and mountains along the way and the scenery was reasonably similar to New Zealand. We arrived at Oslo at the end of the line where we had about an hour to go for a quick explore through the city and along the waterfront. It was then back to Oslo train station and onwards to the airport and then back to London.