As we've only done 60 miles today, almost all on motorway, and spent most of the travelling day on the ferry we're not putting up a map. It's easy to follow, though, from the last to the next.
Earlyish start after a night of rain but it had dried up and the clouds were slowly lifting. After breakfast got Bertie serviced as we don't know where we'll be tonight and anyway that's one of the reasons for being on a campsite!
Off then down the E39 to Kristiansand, calling in at a fuel station but the pumps weren't working so carried on. We wanted to call in at a place in the city itself so that we could claim back the tourist tax on the goodies we'd bought earlier and as it was quite a reasonable amount it was worth the effort. TomTom found the location okay, except it was a pedestrianised street but we were ready for that and Bren was set to bail out and do the deed whlst Terry drove round in circles for a bit. The plan worked out fine, except for a lorry taking out a mirror, fortunately without damage, and Bren was picked up. Still being a bit early for the ferry, being conscious of the fact that Jamie would be cooped up in the van for a long while, we headed back out of town to look for some fuel on the premise that it was maybe cheaper in Norway. Wrong but at least we managed to refuel at a small station across the road from a supermarket with a big carpark so afterwards we did a little top-up shopping before lunch and several walkies.
Back into town and we joined the queue of motorhomes booking in then waiting for the ferry. We would estimate there were well over 100 units, certainly more than the number of cars and lorries! Eventually the good ship Stavangerfjord arrived and we experienced a really quick turnaround, everything off and reloaded within an hour to depart bang on time. After making sure Jamie was okay we headed on up into the accomodation and found reasonable seats in the forward "sports bar" which thankfully wasn't full of boozy travellers. However, although we were comfortable enough, on an evening crossing it might well be worth booking "air seats" or even a cabin if you want some peace and quiet. On this trip, however, most folk were more interested in getting food as the buffetbar had a queue for much of the crossing although the cafeteria-type place was empty and the full restaurant didn't ever seem to open. We ordered a pizza between us, which turned out to be huge and delicious, and a couple of Pepsi Colas. Later an ice-cream finished us off.
Despite the forecasted breezy conditions and a slightly choppy sea it was a smooth crossing, much to Brens relief as she doesn't like ships. It's quite a large modern boat of course so it easily handled the conditions and again was right on time arriving at Hirtshalls in Denmark. Ten minutes later the unloading machine had us off and away down the E39 (it's a European road number so stayed the same across the water/border), pausing at the first available service station to give Jamie a comfort stop and some exercise. He was of course extremely happy to see us, probably one of the longest periods he's been left alone, but he was soon fine again. Bren checked out P4N whilst we were stopped and located a free carpark with a motorhome service point about 15 minutes down the road so TomTom was instructed to find it and we joined a few other vans for a nightstop. It's just the carpark for a sports centre that seems to be closed for now but perfectly adequate for our needs. Still overstuffed from the pizza we just had a very light tea before an early night.
With the object of the trip completed we're now just programming the satnav for the Eurotunnel and we'll progress at whatever pace we feel comfortable with. We could rush on but having to find a vet for Jamie to be "wormed" then a 24hr holding period is just too much hassle. We've still got a week in hand!
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