Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Around Bodø
KJERRINGØY
It'seasytoseewhythissleepypeninsula,washedbyturquoiseseasandwithabackdropof
soaring granite peaks, is a regular location for Norwegian film-makers.
Bus 10 connects Bodø and Kjerringøy twice daily. In summer it's possible to squeeze in
onthesamedayareturntripthatallowsagood2½hoursbrowsingtime.Checkthecurrent
timetable at Bodø's tourist office.
Whether by bus or car, the trip includes the 10-minute ferry crossing between Festvåg
and Misten. Along the way, you pass the distinctive profile of
Landegode Island
(
Click
here
), the white sandy beaches at
Mjelle
(whose car park is some 20 minutes' walk away)
and the dramatic peak
Steigtind
, which rises a few kilometres south of Festvåg.
SALTSTRAUMEN MAELSTROM
You need to plan your day to take in this natural phenomenon, guaranteed to occur four
times every 24 hours. At the 3km-long, 150m-wide Saltstraumen Strait, the tides cause
one fjord to drain into another, creating the equivalent of a waterfall at sea. The result is
a churning, 20-knot watery chaos that shifts over 400 million cubic metres of water one
way, then the other, every six hours. It's an ideal environment for plankton, which in turn
attract an abundance of fish and therefore anglers. In spring, you can also see the squawk-
ing colonies of gulls that nest on the midstream island of Storholmen.
This maelstrom, claimed to be the world's largest, is actually a kinetic series of smaller
whirlpools that form, surge, coalesce, then disperse.
At its best - which is most of the time - it's an exhilarating spectacle. Should you be
unlucky enough to hit an off day, it may recall little more than the water swirling around
your bath plug.
Saltstraumen is 32km south of Bodø by road (and much nearer by boat). There are
sevenbusesdaily(twoonSaturdayandSunday;onehour)betweenBodøandSaltstraumen
bridge.
