Matthew & Jen's World Trip: Matthew's Crazy Finnish Road Trip

Heading inland from the coast towards Lapland proper, the scenery changed subtly. This part of the world was more remote, evidenced by less agriculture, less signs of human habitation and a subtle change in the roadside scenery - the trees were shorter, the forests less dense. Mossy rocks were added to the ground cover and rolling hills appeared in the background.

Day 3 was a 350km journey to a town on the Finnish / Norwegian border - well more of a small village - called Karigasniemi. On the way there I passed through the Sami Museum in Inari. The calibre of the museum well surpassed what I would have expected in a town of about 1000 people - it outlined the culture of the Sami, the polar culture that lives in Scandinavian Lapland and also how the harsh environment affects the plant and wildlife of the area. A great way to lose myself for 2 hours or so.

That night I stayed with Matti and Helga, who I had been connected to through CouchSurfing. Two of the most hospitable and generous people imaginable, who welcomed with open arms a complete stranger from the other side of the world. Their house was amazing. Set amongst the trees, 3 or 4 km from the township, it was completely isolated. Hills and a river were all within easy reach and provided for a stunning view. First up was snowmobiling. Great fun. This was followed by a reindeer meat dinner (with potatoes and berries) and a finnish sauna complete with an ice swim!! Immersing oneself in freezing cold water is a novel experience. The finnish people do this frequently (it's only very brief, but the idea is to fully immerse oneself before bolting back to the sauna to warm up once again). My time with Matti and Helga was a real highlight which I will remember for a very long time!

View from the Front Door and Guesthouse in the Background (right)

Matti heating up the sauna

Where we went ice swimming

Matti (left), Helga (right) and their two dogs

An early rise the next day was necessary to reach Honnisvag in Norway in time to join the North Cape convoy. Crossing the Finnish / Norwegian border was memorable only for the complete lack of ceremony associated with it. I literally drove across the bridge. Norway was vastly different from Finland in terms of scenery. Where I would describe Finland as 'picnic pretty', Norway was savage, harsh and dramatic. Towering cliffs raised up around me. I had driven from spring back into winter.

The drive to Honnisvag was scary enough. A road that was barely wide enough for two cars didn't upset the Norwegian drivers who didn't even appear to slow down as they pass on the other side of me. Although the scenery was worthy of a travel magazine or nature documentary, it was hard to pay too much attention as I drove into a snowstorm.

This drive would however pale in comparison to the final 33km to North Cape. Arriving in Honnisvag at about 11.30am, I needed to wait until a little after midday for a boat to offload about 7 buses worth of tourists who would travel to North Cape in a convoy following a snowplow. The requirement for the snowplow was unclear until I started driving over mountain passes where the road was covered in about 2 inches of snow. Added to this, the wind was blowing a gale, whipping snow across the road the and the route in front restricting my view to some 50-100 metres.

I've never driven in snow before, but I feel like I had a lifetime's worth of experience in that one day. I kept thinking how pleased I was that I had asked the rental car company to keep the snow tyres on. I also couldn't help but think that if I stopped, I might not be able to get the car moving again - and the weather was no good for pushing.

I was overcome with relief to reach North Cape. North Cape is an expensive venture, with one of the final tunnels approaching the Cape (the tunnel connecting the island on which North Cape and Honnisvag are on to the mainland) costing some 145Nkr (or about NZ$30) each way and admittance to North Cape itself being 235NKr. But the drive was well worth every cent. The actual cape itself didn't offer as much to see, but for the satisfaction of knowing I had made it.

The wind was fierce enough to hold me up if I lent into it and hail, rain and snow would roll in and across the cape changing every few minutes.

It was immensely satisfying to know that I had made it as far North as it is possible to drive in Europe. I could see many tankers and freighters sailing through the arctic ocean and I really did feel like I was at the top of the world.

90 minutes later the convoy departed back to Honningsvag...