Expedition Arrives Home Tonight

Flight details as follows:

Airport: London Gatwick
Terminal: South
Arrival Time: 1930
Airline: Norwegian Air Shuttle
Flight Number: DY1306

Any problems call Dot (07929 561167) or Patrick (07870 815986)

Last day of the expedition

Today we woke up in Norway just the same as the last 4 weeks, there was one difference this was our last. Although we have been the smallest BSES LDP expedition, strong bonds have been made between the five of us and our three inspirational leaders. We finished as we started in true style by hosting the final meal. This will be our last blog entry we leave you with the knowledge that we have had a fantastic time.

We would like to give special thanks to local residents Kolbjorn, Barbara and Thomas who have been incredibly welcoming and helpful towards our expedition.

Final stop - Kautokeino and Sami life

The final day of our expedition took both fires to Kautokeino, a town with the largest Sami population in Norway. We spent the morning visiting the Sami Museum and picking up some food from the local shop to add to our lunch by the riverside. In the afternoon we walked to the soon to be opened Sami University. Once there, we were given a talk by Professor Svein Matiesen on how global warming and climate change are affecting the Sami people and the Reindeer they herd. We then travelled once more to the camp site in Alta where we could get clean and relax ready to start packing up tomorrow for our return to the UK on Monday.

Bjorn fire - navigation skills tested

Another early start for our fire for our journey south across the Finnmarksvidda. Once again the paths were misleading and our navigational skills were put to the test. We’ve learnt that Norwegian maps are merely a guide and not a patch on our OS maps. After bashing through yet more bog we finally made the Kautokeino to Karasjok road and made camp for the night, proud to be leaders on the first BSES expedition to explore the Finnmarksvidda.

Javri fire - 5 day's weather in one

Later start today but found more bog. Today’s aim was to get to the finish point and learn more about the area we were walking through even if this involved sinking knee deep in mud just to collect a few amazing cloudberries. We did a bit of navigation on top of a hill taking in the amazing view in the sun. As we walked off the hill it all changed in seconds: it had gone from glorious sun shine to driving hail making us resort to our group shelter after 10 exciting minutes of hammering ice it stopped as suddenly as it started and was back to sun again. On the Finnmarksvidda we seem to have experienced every type of weather imaginable other than snow. After a brief unplanned detour due to coming across multiple paths rather than the one on the map, we reached the road and got in to camp. Today was another very good day, unfortunately this will be our last day of real expeditioning as tomorrow we will be going to Kautokeino to learn more about the Sami.

Bjorn fire - rivers and bog!

Today we enjoyed 12 km of continuous bog, interspersed by 10 river crossings. Blisters were common by the end of the day. The paths disappeared into the bog and we had some disagreement with the GPS which located us in the middle of one of the major rivers when we were actually stood on one of the higher summits. The day finished with us camped 2km from our planned destination when our river was one continuous bog. We retreated early to bed due to a mass midge fest issue.

Javri Fire - bog walking

Today we walked and walked and walked and for a bit of variation waded across 2 rivers. This was to be our longest day both in distance and time spent on the move. We started early, walking across open tundra making a good pace until we met river number one which involved swapping shoes and wading across. We then walked some more, met river number two and the same palaver was repeated, met the other team at mozzie heaven and had a very satisfying rat pack meal after the 28km, 2 rivers and numerous bogs we had covered today.

Bjorn fire (the girls)

We were blessed with a later start than the boys, giving us an extra 2 hours in bed. However we did lose our minds after spending an hour and a half in a group shelter in the pouring rain whilst waiting for the YE’S. By the time the YE’s arrived, the clouds were all rained out and we trekked the 4km up hill to base camp, sampling cloudberries on the way. An evening of entertainment followed including a team building, magic carpet game and sitting in a rather damp group shelter whilst eating some Norwegian waffles.

Javri Fire (the boys)

We had an early start leaving Alta Camp site at 6am on the first shuttle to our drop off point on the Finnmarkvidda. Our 5 YE’s joined us later on after travelling down from Oksfjord. They were welcomed by an unusually heavy rain, but we are all surprisingly at home in our waterproofs.

We had lunch in a traditional Norwegian trekkers hut, and shared Lefser, a cream filled waffle which is a favourite snack in Norway. Tim and I continued to lead our team named Javri (lake in Sami) to where we made camp that evening on the tundra. All the while sharing stories and facts we had learned while planning in the days leading up to the mini expedition. The day ended with a tale of Askelladden, a character known well in Norwegian legend and fairytale.