Day16 - From Geinranger to the Musk Oxes and then to Balestrand

Today's highlight: the musk ox!  We sooo want to see that beast that we get up at 4h30. We need to leave at 5h00, we have a 3-hour drive ahead of us before we can meet the guide at 8h00 in Dombas. The sun is already out there, we can see it reflected on the summits around the Geiranger fjord.

The early-morning light is beautiful and the impressing landscape is set into a new décor.

There is zero wind and all lakes become perfect mirrors. It is so astonishing that we cannot stop stopping for taking pics.

We arrive at bit in advance to Dombas, it's 7h40, perfect to change our clothes and to get a hot chocolate to warm up. We meet the guide and head up to the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, its a 30 mins drive. We take the guide's van and have the chance to talk about the myth of moose, this imaginary creature that is signaled everywhere but doesn't really exist. The guide also organizes moose safaris and tries obviously to convince us that it is not imaginary, that it really exists. He also explains that there is a lot of moose in the national park and that we'll certainly see a few on the way there.

Without us noticing, the guide has been scanning the left and right side of the road... and... all of a sudden he stops the car and says "there!" We are exited, "where?!! what?!" "A moose" he says, "there, just in the middle". Miji cannot see anything, "where?!!".  "There!" he replies while pointing to a dark spot in the middle of the field...  ....  Ladies and gentlemen, the moose:

10h30, the sun is strong and the sky is blue… what a great morning! The car is parked and it is time to start our 3-4 hours walk to see the legendary musk ox!!

We are surrounded by the dramatic highlands around the Snohetta (2286m) which is still partly covered by snowfields. On our walk Miji collects some musk ox fur for his new winter’s underwear… very soft and after the alpaca wool the warmest material you can get, said the guide.

After a hot 3 hours, walk we spot 2 tiny brown creatures far away. There they are – the mystic musk oxes! We continue moving towards them, they become bigger and bigger in our eyes... We are now at about 200m in front of them, separated by a shallow river. What a massif, furry animal!!! As always when seeing an animal, Miji starts getting hungry: luckily the guide had planned a pic-nic in front of the beasts and guess what, he has also brought a musk ox sausage for us to try! Miam!!

They said the safari would end at 14h00; but it is 17h30 when we are back on the motorcycle. We are 200 km away from bed… very tired from the long walk and the heat. Hop! We gather our best motivation, dress up and start riding, but it is so hot that after 15min we cannot resist anymore and just stop, tear apart all the motorcycling gear and jump with a looping into a lake. Grrrrrr... soooo good...

We continue the road through a stunning landscape of glaciers. Although it is getting later and later, we can’t help but stopping several times to take in the beauty of the scenery. The last ferry to reach our hotel leaves at 23h50, so there is still time.

Miji enjoys the nice curvy downhills towards the Sognefjord and feels just like at home. At last, we arrive in the hotel at 23h. We are so surprised by the beautiful cabin with all-around fjord-view that despite our exhaustion we sit for 2 more hours on the porch and enjoy the view.