The Side of Norway Most Tourists Never See

It's just you and me and whatever the weather is. That is wild! I've never seen that before! In the far north of Norway, hidden between towering fjords and arctic waters, is a beach so remote it doesn't even appear on Google Maps. There's no roads to reach it, no civilization, and tonight, if everything goes to plan, this is where we'll be sleeping. But there's just one problem. We're not exactly experienced wild campers, and with unpredictable arctic weather and three days of travel just to reach it, all we had to rely on was the gear we could carry and our basic camping skills. And yet there was something about reaching a place this isolated that we couldn't resist. So let's wind back three days to the start of our journey in Norway's capital, Oslo. Good morning from Oslo, Norway. We are currently right at the other end of the country. We've got miles and hours and hours till we get there. And we're gonna start a stopwatch to see how long it actually takes us to travel there, because it's gonna be a long few days. Let the journey begin. Let's start this journey then. Oslo central, here we come. Getting to the beach meant crossing half of Norway, and it wasn't going to be straightforward. Our first train took us to Trodium for an overnight stop before continuing to Bodo, with the scenery getting wilder by the hour. We then crossed the Arctic Circle, an invisible boundary taking us into the far north. But our journey was still far from over, and this is where things started getting complicated. So after two very long train journeys we have finally arrived to Bodo, where we have picked up a car. We are on hour 37 of our journey so far. This is our car and it's an electric vehicle. I'm a bit worried because obviously electric cars you can't just fill up, you have to charge them. We're going somewhere remote. Is this the best idea? But this was like the cheapest one we could rent. So I guess we're going to find out if we're actually going to be able to get where we're going with an electric vehicle. We then spent some time figuring out this electric car in preparation for the next morning, where we would be boarding our first of two ferries. It's currently 5.30am and it is super moody, but we are actually on our way to the ferry port because we are supposedly getting a ferry this morning over to the Lofoten Islands, which is really exciting, except for the fact I saw waves from the train yesterday and they looked a little bit vicious. The ferry took three and a half hours to reach the Lofoten Islands, a remote arctic archipelago of jagged mountains, deep fjords and impossibly white beaches. But despite it being July, we quickly realised the sunny beach we'd seen online might look very different. The locals explained they'd had a particularly wet, wild summer and as we crossed towards the islands, thick clouds and 11 degree temperatures surrounded us. Thankfully the sea was relatively calm that day, so when we arrived at Lofoten we were determined to make it to the beach that day. Although looking back, pushing on might not have been our smartest decision. So we have officially arrived in the Lofoten Islands and it has taken us a total of 50 hours and 54 minutes from Oslo to here. The weather here is so unpredictable, there is literally like a rainstorm coming through the fjords in front of us. I'm just not sure this was the best idea, going wild camping for the first time in the arctic circle. Did we think this through? Probably not. In a few hours time this is where the real challenge will begin because we're not relying on transport, it's going to be our own two legs. But there was one more local ferry we had to take first. We have just got to the ferry terminal where we're supposed to take this ferry but we don't have tickets and it's not letting me book them online anymore, so we're gonna fingers crossed hopefully we can just book and pay on the spot. However it looks really busy so I don't know if they're actually even going to let us on this or if we need to wait for another one, I don't know if that's a possibility. I'm a bit worried to be honest. Here we go, here's the queue. Luckily we made the ferry which was a relief considering it doesn't run that often. The journey took us through some of the most beautiful landscapes we've ever seen and any sign of towns or villages gradually seemed to disappear. By the time we reached our stop there were just a handful of other hikers and we are alone. The ferry is gone and it doesn't return till I think 10 30 tomorrow so it's just you and me and whatever the weather is. Wish us luck. How are you feeling of your first true wild camping experience? I'm nervous, not gonna lie. I don't know why we chose the arctic circle for that first experience. But there we go. Got all the gear and no idea. I'll tell you what, I do love these red buildings in amongst the really green. It's like a proper Norwegian fishing town, always the red and the yellow. It's looking muddy. Oh my gosh. There is limited information about this beach online but our research suggests it might take two hours to hike over the mountain and down to the beach but all that recent bad weather was about to change that for us. It's like boggy, it's not just muddy, it's like squelchy. Apparently this summer has been so bad with rain that conditions have been really bad, way worse than usually in July. The views behind you. I know, just so beautiful. Norway is magical and we got so lucky with the weather so far. Magic weather in the fjords, it's pretty rare. We have been severely warned the weather can change in 15 minutes just like that. Feels like it's 25 degrees and sunny. So we need to keep our eyes ready in case a storm hits because we're going to have to cover our bags and it won't be nice. How are you coping with all that weight? It's weird because it's a little bit more weight than I'm used to carrying. I'm trying to climb up onto the rocks and I'm like getting pulled back because I'm not used to it. She's not used to it because I normally do all that work but we've got to split it today haven't we? Oh yeah. Lucky, lucky me. As the last few buildings disappeared behind us the trail got muddier and the landscapes around us became noticeably wilder but we knew that once we'd reached the top we'd finally get our first view of the beach where we were planning to sleep that night. Although it wasn't quite what we expected. I got bogged. Bogged off. Bogged down by the mud. I can feel it's cold. Oh has it gone for your shoes? I don't think so but it just feels cold on my shoes. It's getting a bit tougher now that we're at the boggy bit it's just rocks to climb over. It just feels so crazy being the only ones out here in this beautiful fjords. I think we'll see a few people dotted around but just have this open beautiful landscape it's just surreal. Say goodbye to the last civilization we'll see. It's not really a civilization is it? No it's just a couple of houses, a little fishing village in the middle of Lofoten fjords. A couple of sheep and a couple of farmers that's about it. Is that comfy? It is quite comfy to be fair. It's looking pretty cloudy in that direction as well. Oh wow. Oh wow. I've just seen where we are camping tonight. Oh wow that is ridiculous the mountains each side are huge. We can finally see where we're camping tonight but getting here hasn't exactly been straightforward. Our journey first began back at the airport where we installed our Simify eSIM before even flying to Norway. Amelia and I haven't used physical SIM cards in years because eSIMs have made traveling so much easier. We both have Simify Europe plans which covers 51 countries and has kept us connected throughout our travels this summer. Because it's prepaid we also don't have to worry about those unexpected roaming fees. Installing it is really simple. Once you've purchased your plan open it in the Simify app, press install on this phone and follow the steps to activate it. Then once you arrive turn on data roaming, adjust a couple of settings and you'll be online within minutes. Here in Norway we've used our data to book trains, navigate around the Lofoten islands and most importantly find coffee. And somehow even up here on this mountain we still have data to check our reaching the beach. Simify has plans for over 150 destinations which you can buy now and activate anytime within the next six months. Use our code JE15 for 15% off through the link below or scan this QR code on screen. It's looking a little bit cloudy in the distance. I'm hoping it's not rain because it almost looks like that sea mist. Honestly the beach was looking much further away than we thought but there was no turning back from here. We need somewhere to put up our tent down there. The only thing is there doesn't seem like anywhere with like any shelter so if it starts raining our tent is the only cover. It's pretty muddy on this downhill isn't it? Yeah it's actually pretty slippy. Especially with our big bags. We actually have this filtered bottle so I'm going to fill it up from this little waterfall here. Fill it up and then I have to push it in and it basically filters the water so it's extra clean and we're not going to get ill. Also saves us carrying like six aces of water. Such a cute little stream. This is slightly dirty water and then you push it down and then the fresh water comes in. It's starting to rain. We need to cover the bags quick and that camera. You're going inside the bag. We need to cover this. This is not nice. It literally said on the weather it'll be sunny but never trust the weather and the photon. That's the number one rule. We have our waterproofs on. Luckily it's not too heavy right now but we are hopefully prepared. Not sure about mentally but physically I think we are. Depends what this weather throws at us. Could be a blizzard for all I know. Because we're stuck here. There's no hotel at the end of the beach. It is looking so stormy ahead. Look at the tops of the mountains. Pretty crazy being in this remote valley. Why does the weather lie so much here? Like it said it would be sun and cloud. This is no sun but a lot of rainy clouds. When you're in the arctic circle I guess they just don't know. Every time I step I'm just stepping in water and that's slowly just absorbing my shoe and so my shoe is just becoming a bog. I hope you can visualize that or feel that enough. My trousers are all wet. Really really boggy. And after a lot of complaining about the a bit of positivity finally came our way. I've never been so happy to see sand. The bog is gone. Although it looks like it's about to rain. Summer holidays. Lost my hood. I wasn't done up. Yep I feel really really good now. It feels like it's 25 degrees and sunny. Except you can't even see the top of the mountains anymore. But what you've got to remember is we actually have the midnight sun here so even if the sun suddenly comes out at like 1am it will still feel like the middle of the day. That is mental isn't it. The wind and dark clouds showed no sign of improving but there was a reward waiting for us on the beach we had no idea about. This place is so wild. It feels like no one's ever touched this area before. There is all the paths have disappeared even the ones on all trails. And I think there is just so much water because this whole beach is just covered in water and usually I think you can walk on it. I think usually it said you can camp between these dunes but there's only water there. So you can't do that. Yeah this is like Jurassic Park. We've been to some remote isolated wild places. This has got to be up there. Honestly amazed how long it's actually taken us. I think it's due to the fact that it's so boggy right now but we're just in the midst of these sand dunes on this remote valley in the arctic circle. I'm exhausted. This place is spectacular though. Like jaw-dropping valley, cliffs, mountains. Whoa. Are we at the beach? I just saw some of the waves. They look scary. Oh blimey. I think we kind of made it. It's still raining but we've made it to the beach. The sun has come out. Literally as we arrived there is the ocean. Beautiful. Finally. It's still raining. No. Can you see it? Can you see it or is that just me? There's literally a perfect rainbow you can see from one side to the other. What? Oh whoa. Get in the middle. Perfect rainbow. That is wild. I've never seen that before. Whoa. I think you can just see it still. Oh it's nearly going. I think the rain's gone. For once we might actually want the rain. No I think it's the sun that's going. There's still rain. Don't worry. The rain's not going anywhere. That was nice. That lasted. I can't put this into words but this massive open landscape it's just a bit overwhelming right now. Like there's no one else here. There's no one. I think maybe there was someone camping kind of a couple of miles back that way but here there is no one but us and this magical beach. This has to be the most dramatic beach I've ever seen. Like it just the valley itself is huge. The beach is massive. It's just wild. I think there's no other words describing it than just wild remote Norwegian arctic beach. It literally feels like some rugged movie just washed up on this crazy arctic beach. Now we've made it to the beach it's actually time to find a spot we can actually camp in tonight. That's not going to be too much in the bad weather and also it's not going to get washed up in the sea. We're kind of tempted to put our tent over there but I'm not sure how high the tide comes so I think we're gonna have to go way back in the dunes. I think we're gonna camp here. We made this our home. Oh my gosh I'm so tired. I did not know that was going to take us three hours. It said like an hour and a half but it's just so boggy that we couldn't go any faster. Now that we'd chosen our camp spot it was time to actually do the camping which meant two things set up the tent and cook the dinner and for some reason we decided to do both at once. Oh there we go. Imagine if that wasn't working. I know we'd have to we've got hunger and you're gonna love what we're having tonight. It's gonna make me need to pee. My socks are a bit soggy. I don't know about you. Well the bottom of my trousers are soaked. Oh no. I'm gonna try and dry them off the flame. Please don't set them on fire. No no no. Do you think that's rain? I don't know it could be. Whilst Joel is on dinner duty I'm on tent duty because we need to make sure we get this up before it rains inevitably. Let's see if I remember how to do this because it's been How much should we go for? Just over half? Should we go mental? Half the pasta? Yeah yeah. We need loads of pasta. So this is the taller side. You don't mind not flat do you? No it's only one night. I like a curvy bed. Amelia's doing a great job by herself. I wouldn't say great job I'd say a job. So right here I have got some linguine cooking up. We have got pasta sauce. I think it's a bit garlicky with some tuna and sweet corn. This is going to be master chef right here in a one pot pan. Look at this. I don't know why I'm draining the pasta like this. Why are you like that? I don't know. Oh I'm a bit dizzy after that. What I'm actually excited for is the morning because you're not going to believe what my breakfast is. It's an interesting choice by you. Yeah. Let's dig in. I'm so hungry after that hike honestly. Like it was it wasn't even too hard it was just like boggy. This is so good. I think it tastes better after that hike. Yeah. But our camping adventure wasn't over yet. In our rush to eat we hadn't actually explored the beach yet. We've had our food. Now we want to explore the area a little bit. We want to explore where we're actually staying tonight. Amelia's still looking frighteningly cold. It is frighteningly cold. Am I the only person that's breathing? We are in the arctic. I'll let you off. We just have to cross this river in order to get across to this grassy bank. Although it looks very slippy. Okay I think we've found the best view. This has to be the best view. Like this is spectacular. You probably can't see it but our tent is just there on this whole massive beach. There is actually a few other campers but they're kind of tucked away on this grassy area. We just saw an otter. We're just sitting here chilling. We're just literally chilling and we see an otter come out of I don't know where it came out of the cave. Oh my word. We've made it up onto these rocks and we can see all the way out to the sea. I think literally in that direction is like the north pole or maybe that direction. You feel the cold breeze can't you? The sea makes it feel so much colder and it's actually super wavy out there even though it feels quite calm and nice in the day. The sea looks so beautiful I almost want to swim but then I'm not going to warm up all night. That's the only thing. So I'm thinking if we're going to swim then we're going to do it in the morning and then hike because then we'll keep the blood flowing and keep warm and it'll be fine. Stay tuned. We might be swimming in the arctic apparently according to Amelia. Not sure about me if I'm honest. Anyone who knows Amelia knows she doesn't cope well in the cold so I was slightly concerned about her sleeping situation tonight. We've been relaxing the last couple of hours walking along the bay. It's just taking this incredible place in but you will not guess the time right now. Oh that went up. It's midnight. It's midnight and it is so bright outside. It's mental. So the sun I think sets in about half an hour and then the sun rises in an hour and a half. So the sun is actually only set about an hour right now and we're in the end of July. The only way you can pretty much sleep here is if you've got a sleep mask and that's what we've got. Unfortunately we've not been blessed with the midnight sun. It's the midnight clouds. Imagine big beautiful sun. Colours, rainbows everywhere. So even though it's quarter past midnight and it's still bright outside we're gonna go to bed. Probably not for too long. It's so disorientating for your body the fact that it's not dark and to cope with it this this is my eye mask that I bought. I actually forgot my other one but this one is literally a duvet for your eyes and no bit of light is getting in. Let us quickly show you our camping setup. So we have some little kind of blow up little mats that fold up really small. We have our three person tent but I think it's more like a two person. It's very squishy and we've got some kind of winter level sleeping bags. They're three season sleeping bags. They're not like bulletproof. I feel like they're gonna do the job tonight. Yeah and then we didn't bring pillows but we filled our sleeping bag cases with our coats and I think that might work quite well. I think that's a good idea. Good night. Good morning guys. We have some good news. It didn't rain at all last night which I think is a miracle looking at the sky. And it wasn't too windy either. No. I think we chose a good camp spot. The weird thing is it's half five in the morning right now and it feels exactly the same lighting as when we went to bed. But considering the light I think we both said that we slept really well but we must just be so tired from the hike. I was so tired so I just zonked out. This bed is comfy. You know what time it is? Breakfast time and I can't wait for this. Oh and we got coffee. Wait not any old coffee. For breakfast today we have first on the menu Colombian single origin speciality coffee. Look at that. And it's one of those special camping ones so excited to give this a go. Second on the menu we have dehydrated pack of oatmeal. This is in Norwegian. This is for Amelia. But wait until you see what I've got. I went for bolognese for breakfast and it's dehydrated. I am so curious to know what this actually tastes like because I've heard these things are pretty rank. I've got a problem. I've never used these and it's all in Norwegian. And we have no data. What does that mean? Someone translate what he just said if you can actually understand it. And then it says eight minutes so I think it needs eight minutes. It smells like bolognese. Yeah I'm not sure about this. What is it? 6 a.m? Oh my word. Have a look in here. Oh what kind of bolognese is white? Look at that. Would you say that's bolognese? Because I'm not sure. Let us know in the comments if you'd rather have a bolognese at 6 a.m or oatmeal at 6 a.m. I know what I'd choose. The oatmeal? Probably to be fair. Okay now we're supposed to wait five and eight minutes for it to rehydrate I guess. Amelia's going first with her oatmeal. How's it looking? I can confirm it looks like porridge. I think it's got like apple and cinnamon or like banana in it or something. That is fancy. It's a little bit sticky like concrete. Is it all right? Yeah it's all right. It's quite nice. The big question is how the bolognese is going to be. Here we go. How's that look? Again what? Maybe it's is it chicken? I don't know. Why is there white in it? Here goes nothing. Why are you crunching? Oh no I shouldn't be should I? Do you need more water in it? I can hear you're still crunching. I'm crunching. Put some water in it. Maybe I didn't stir it enough. I'm putting some more boiling water in it. It's very okay. It's all right when it's not crunchy. You've not sold it to me. No. Subscribe if you'd rather eat dehydrated oatmeal than dehydrated bolognese for breakfast. This is our coffee this morning. Smell that. Oh that is heaven right now. You fill it up with boiling water. Close it up for four minutes. Oh this is cool. Quite nice to be fair. A little bit bitter. It's decent for where we are. Cheers. We have packed all our lives back into these bags and we're off. We're leaving this beautiful beach. I don't want to leave but we only have like two and a half hours to get our ferry and it took us three hours to get here so that's not really good is it? Come on let's go. The worst thing is the sun has literally just made an appearance over the mountain. What are the chances? Just in that little gap there. I want to swim but it's just too cold. It looks like incredible that beach. So at this point you're probably thinking Amelia, Joel you've shown us this incredible beach but you've barely mentioned where it actually is and that's kind of the point. As beautiful as this place is we don't want to just send everyone watching this video to the exact same spot. Instead we want to inspire you to go looking for your own wild adventure. Some of our best experiences have come from following our curiosity, taking the less obvious route and finding places we never expected to end up. So instead of simply copying this trip why not have a look for an adventure of your own however big or small and if you find one let us know in the comments. This big flat open beach you just get a sense of how vast and huge this place is. Just so wild. Also Joel worked out because it's a u-shaped valley we think that means that it used to be a glacier and that's how this valley was formed which is cool. We've come through a boggy part. This is Did you get your feet wet? They're already wet. That's tough. That was a big one. We've just about reached the top of the hill and we can no longer see the beautiful beach. Kind of sad because I loved that beach and hopefully I'll return one day. And we are nearly back at the fishing village. We can see it down there and our ferry port is there. Hopefully we'll still make it to the ferry in time. Here it is the ferry port. We have made it. The ferry is just coming in the distance and we have made it back to civilisation. We'll be back in the town very shortly. And we are exhausted. Honestly sapped of energy. Even holding this camera up is actually like quite painful right now. I can fall back. I'm gonna just hold on to you. Honestly even though the weather wasn't completely sunny it was such an incredible experience and we didn't have any rain whilst we were camping which is cool. Yeah I thought we were gonna wake up to a rainstorm. There is the sun on your command. I don't know if you can tell how tired we are but we're exhausted. And now we need to head back, shower and then explore the rest of these beautiful islands. Thanks for watching and before you leave please don't forget to subscribe for next week's Lofoten adventure. It's gonna be a good one.