Norway has been a bucket list country for a long time. In 2024 we were fortunate enough to have an extended period of leave which allowed us to make the journey in our new Hymer Free s600 Camper van to Norway from Calais, France. Roughly 13 hours of driving and a 4 hour ferry would land us in Kristiansand to start our journey north.
The park up
We did not want to drive far once we arrived in Norway as we just wanted somewhere to get our bearings and make a plan for the next few days. After all, we did not have a plan for our trip to Norway and wanted it to be more spontaneous and adventurous. Once we used Park4night we ended up at a little church car park roughly an hour outside of Kristiansand which had access to a stream and a football pitch across the stream which was great for the kids to run around. We had the whole place to ourselves.
Should we or should we not
After burning some energy and planning our next move we stumbled upon a pond/lake on Google maps called Gluba pond. We were eager to explore but the downside was that it was a good 30 minute walk away. As it was already getting late we were unsure if we wanted to walk that distance but eventually decided to just go for it.
An amazing surprise
There were some steep sections which passed a tree house (on airbnb) and a path which leads to a viewing platform but it eventually lead to an extremely picturesque lake with a picnic and bbq area as well as wood carvings and the best part, FREE canoes! Honestly, we could not believe it ourselves and could only imagine what else Norway had in store for us for the next month of travelling north.
We were alone all evening and we spent a few hours relaxing by the lake and going on the canoes before heading back with two very tired children. It will be a memory that will stay with us for a long time.
