Words:
Elinor Griffiths &
Geth Roberts

Photos:
Mirco Goldhausen,
Ed Loffill &
Sea Kayaking Wales

About Elinor
Before Norway, Elinor participated in many sea kayak expeditions in the British Isles, notably some major trips to Scotland. She enjoys paddling, sheltered in advanced conditions with great company, and is an advanced leader for her club.

About Sea Kayaking Wales
Based in Anglesey, SKW provides expedition and holiday opportunities to Scotland, Norway, and Pembrokeshire. They hope to add Croatia, Greece, and Ireland to the destinations list. SKW also runs progressive coaching courses on Anglesey, from beginner to advanced, and are providers of all the British Canoeing Leadership, Coach, Safety and Personal Performance awards. Clubs/groups are also encouraged to hire SKW for meets and expeditions. SKW is also a dealer of Sea Kayaking UK, Tiderace and Zegul sea kayaks. You can demo most models on the course opportunities. www.seakayakingwales.com

Sea kayaking in Arctic Norway

Adventures traversing Senja, Kvaloya and many other magical Arctic islands.

At Sea Kayaking Wales, we love hosting expeditions in wilderness places like Arctic Norway. This July, we ran an expedition to the Senja and Kvaløya islands. Ånderdalen National Park, with its sea-facing saw-tooth peaks, narrow ridges and steep mountainsides, forms much of the western flank of Senja.

Further north, great fjords and fingerlike peninsulas thrust out into the Arctic Ocean. Much of Senja resembles a supercharged version of Scotland’s Isle of Skye. Meanwhile, Kvaløya and Sommerøya have an Outer Hebrides feel about them, with frequent azure coastal seascapes and idyllic pale sandy beaches. Combining the traverse of these islands became a fantastic adventure and truly life-affirming experience for all involved.

For 2025, we aim to offer two more expeditions to Arctic Norway, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the famous British Sea Kayak Expedition from Bodo to Nordkapp. One of our 2025 expeditions will replicate the 2024 Senja and Kvaløya Expedition plan (albeit with less intense paddling days), and the second expedition will venture further north with a more exploratory (weather dependent) plan to explore: Sørøya Island or the more sheltered and stunningly beautiful Nordkvaløya-Rebbenesøya Protected Landscape. Our van team will support both expeditions by hauling our trailer of quality composite sea kayaks. SKW’s 2025 Arctic Norway Expedition is described in the following paragraphs by Elinor Griffiths.

Elinor Griffiths’ Experience of the SKW Arctic Norway Senja Expedition 2024
I’m just back from a wonderful sea kayaking expedition in Norway. We were fortunate to have good weather, enabling us to paddle to exposed and remote areas with stunning views daily. I have wanted to paddle for a while in Norway, and last year, I wrote to Geth Roberts of Sea Kayaking Wales asking if they had any planned trips. He said no but to give him a couple of weeks. He duly returned with the option of paddling around Senja, Norway’s second-largest island and in the Arctic Circle.

It looked like a beautiful location and lived up to and beyond expectations. Expertly led by SKW guides Mirco Goldhausen and Tim Vanhoutteghem (Arctic Norway expert and fire master), they planned a route taking us from the south of Senja up along the west coast and along the fjords on the north, then onto further islands, including Sommerøya (Norwegian summer isles), Kvaløya and Vengsøya before being picked up near Tromso.

The expedition had a lovely group of people, 11 days paddling, 225km (about 140 miles). Longer paddles and moderate sea state for the first few days, rewarded by sun and calm waters for the second half. The highlights included a night paddle, swimming nearly daily, white coral beaches, turquoise seas and high mountains still with snow, and eating wild cloudberries.

Norway paddling days one and two of 11 (9-10th July)
Planes, buses, taxis, and a ferry will get us to the trip’s start after food shopping and picking up kayaks. We set off at 21:00 on the south coast of Senja (not sure if endless daylight is a good thing!), and we made a short crossing to a small island for our first camping spot and late dinner. The next day, we followed the Senja west coast for about 24km to the next camp, starting to get an idea of how dramatic the coastline is and the beautiful ‘sunsets’. Unfortunately, mosquitoes also liked the calm, sunny evenings, so we learnt to keep covered up. Apart from when swimming! The second beach also had a stream for washing off the salt.

Norway paddling days three and four (11-12th July)
Day three: We travelled 18km further up the west coast to camp on a small Island with a rocky landing and quite hilly terrain, making camping tricky. Our tents were scattered wherever there was a small patch of flat ground. But the evening walk to the highest point revealed lovely views over Senja one way and the island of Hinnøya the other.

Day four: “We might not be able to land for a little while.” After a stop soon after leaving, the next stop was five hours away and 33km in total! Probably a good thing “A little while” wasn’t defined at the start. The reward was an unexpected late seafood pasta lunch in a lovely restaurant. Conditions were the most challenging of the trip. The SW wind was helping but also causing bigger waves. The final stop made it all worth it: a white coral beach and, best of all, a well-cared-for compost toilet!

Norway day five (Sat 13th July).
A ‘rest’ day. The morning was rainy, so I slept late and drank several cups of coffee in Tim’s large tent. Then the clouds cleared, and we paddled a short way to the main island of Senja and restocked food supplies. We walked halfway up a mountain, and then we returned to our small island camp. The idea of a midnight sun paddle was floated, and the evening was so calm it would have been rude not to (plus my FOMO got the better). I am so glad I went. It was a beautiful light and memorable paddle to the fjord’s edge to see the sun at midnight.

Norway days six and seven (14-15th July)
Day six: The previous night, we discussed options given the weather forecast of large-ish swell and wind, meaning that we couldn’t land or launch safely at some of the planned beach stops due to surf. Our guides came up with a plan but seemed apprehensive about proposing it. The reason became clear: to reach a safe and sheltered beach, we’d need to paddle over 40km. But everyone was up for it, with the promise of an easier next day in the Norwegian summer isles. The 42km didn’t feel that long; the views kept getting better and better as we paddled past the five fingers of north Senja to spend a final night on that island. The landing beach was indeed lovely.

Day seven: On to Sommerøya (summer isle) and another white sandy beach with a food shop on one of the larger Isles. Oh, and ice cream and apple cake.

Norway days eight and nine (16-17th July)
Shorter (relatively!) paddles further northeast amongst the islands off Kvaloya. We camped on the low-lying islands with white coral beaches, enjoying the views of the more dramatic landscape on the larger island – several eagles and millions (maybe thousands) of terns.

Norway paddling days ten and 11 (18-19th July)
The last two days felt gorgeous, like a holiday: sun, blue skies, sea, and calm waters. I explored around the island of Vengsoya and the others nearby. Many were inhabited years ago, with people braving the sometimes wild seas to go fishing and heading back to tiny, sheltered bays hidden in the islands.

Thanks
Sea Kayaking Wales would like to thank all our amazing Arctic Norway 2024 participants: Elinor, Steve, Helen, Neil, Kendra, Ed and our SKW guide team: Tim, Mirco and our 2024 intern Jake.

We aim to complete our 2025 Arctic Norway expeditions selections by January 2025. The Arctic Norway Sørøya or Nordkvaløya-Rebbenesøya Expedition will be aimed at experienced expeditioners with moderate to advanced sea kayaking skills. The Senja and Kvaløya Islands Expedition will welcome less experienced expeditioners with sea kayaking proficiency up to and including journeying in moderate water conditions. Our 2025 Senja and Kvaløya islands expedition will aim to be less physically intense than the 2024 version (the 2024 team were all very motivated advanced sea kayakers).