Good Byes

The last few days have been incredible! I came back from Molde on Monday night and have been in Fresvik until today. I’ve spent every day I could hiking in the mountains, swimming in rivers and spending time with family and friends. 

On Tuesday I went with my second youngest brother Dag and 3 of my cousins up a 1360 meters high mountain in Fresvik. It was great weather and therefore we spent a while getting to the top (in total we used about 5 hours). We also had a rest by a river where some of us went for a swim. At the top we saw two deer. No one got harmed.
The next day I went with my youngest brother to a higher and longer mountain trip. The highest point was about 1500 meters above sea level, and right next to The Fresvik Glacier. Stunning view. When we walked by the glacier we went for a little dive so we could cool down. It was ice in the water and freezing cold, but very refreshing. When we got to the top, we kept walking out to a viewing area which has cliffs straight down hundreds of meters. Very dangerous if you can’t stay calm or are afraid of heights. We went for another swim there, which had alot “warmed” water than the one with the glacier. This trip took us about 6 hours.
On Thursday I went on a trip I’d never done before, I took my two younger brothers and a good friend from High School, Torkil. We hiked up a 1400 meters mountain, but instead of walking up the normal path (which is flat and long), we hiked straight up the mountain. It starts in the forest and then continues on narrow cliffs. It had an insane view! I haven’t seen anything like this before! The weather was again perfect! We had been so lucky on all of these three days, and if it had been raining or slippery it would have made our trip a lot more dangerous. I think we spent about an hour all together just taking pictures. When we got to the top, we had a rest before we ran towards the other side of the mountain. It was about 8km (5 miles) away so it took a while but we got there, and the view over the fjord was stunning. I’m so glad I took a lot of pictures so I can show you how great this trip was. We hiked on the “edge” of the mountain towards the path back to Fresvik. When we were heading back down to civilisation we crossed a river, and it was so warm we had a swim. Clear blue water which had been warmed up by the hot sun. We got back home after about 7.5 hours hiking, we were shattered!

When I got back I got interviewed by the local newspaper who might write an article about my Zambia year which is coming up soon. If it does get published, it will hit the news sometime next week. Later this evening, Fres Festival started. This is a music festival which has been arranged 8 times over the last 9 years in Fresvik, where a 4 man band created the festival so they could have a place to play, now it’s been growing into a festival which attracts big bands/artists. Local people who now live in the US, London and all over Norway came to this festival to see their friends and enjoy some good music. The concerts starts from 7PM and finishes at about 3AM, and I live only a few hundred meters away, so it’s no problem having a solid breakfast/dinner and a shower before I party with my friends. Which I do appreciate a lot.
On Sunday morning the festival was over, and I believe this festival was the best by far. The weather was changing (from thunder to sun to rain) but I think we all had a great time.
Now, it’s Sunday evening and I’m sitting on the bus from Oslo Airport to the city centre. I’m going to stay in Oslo for the next 7 day, getting ready for my year in Zambia. So I’ve said good bye to my family and friends back home. Don’t know why, but I was sadder saying good bye to some of the friends in Gansbaai than my parents, but I guess that is because I know I will come back to my family in less than a year. And they are also talking about coming to visit. 

On our way up Hovsfjellet. It starts off in the forest before the mountain climbing starts...

Just above the forest where we got a decent view over my hometown

Sometimes you can get stuck while you're climbing. Here my brother Dag need some help

Dag pretty happy. My cousin climbing the get a look at the stunning view

Pointing at Nonhaugen, where we hiked the following day

Here we are having a little rest to fill our bottles and have a bath

Can you see my cousins head in the river?

Getting close to the top

Top of the mountain. Hovsfjellet 1360 meters 

Running down through the woods

Sigbjørn likes to show off his muscles

Enjoying the view at Syringsfjellet over The Fresvik Glacier. The highest point is about 1600 meters above sea level

In action picture with the GoPro camera

Balance

Not easy to stay on your feet, and here you can see how steep it was. We didn't get hurt though. Except from a small cut on a knee

Sliding down on the snow. Went a lot faster than walking.

A bit of underwater swimming with the GoPro headstrap on

Sigbjørn felt the cold

Swimming in the glacier water. Yes, it was freezing cold. You can see the ice on the right side

Dag showing his muscles

Always looking back at Fresvik

Getting there

We had such a great time!

Dag is hanging his legs outside the cliff! And he enjoys it!

about .5 meters wide

Climb

100 meters straight down on the left, 100 meters straight down on the right. Don't fall

We stopped a lot to take pictures

This is such a good picture on how narrow the path is

Break

We had to do some climbing. Here is Dag 

My youngest brother Sigbjørn showing his muscles on the way up the mountain. The Sognefjord in the background.

Pretty awesome place

Running around on mountains make men sweat, so we had to take a proper shower when we could

Had a beer while we enjoyed the amazing view over the fjord 

Here I got my GoPro Headstrap on while taking a dive. 

Fun times. Jump! Dive! Swim...

Our dog Lord also want to take part 

Having a laugh with good friends

We had a diving competition. This dive got 1st place. The diving board is brand new. Awesome Torkil!

Birgitte, Lars, Me, and Torkil

A few pictures from the Fres Festival. Here is a crowd picture

TYYL always makes the crowd jump

Party!

TYYL. Do you see the guy crowd surfing?

Bubbles