Top of the world

Maja led a tour to Nordkapp and back. Five thousand miles in three weeks. And she reckons it was worth it. Here's why...

- Maja Kenney

One last look around the house before I stepped outside into one of the hottest summer days in North Wales. All the months of research, planning and dreaming of the trip to Nordkapp, and its finally come to the day of departure. The bike of choice, an Aprilia Tuareg, was loaded and waiting patiently outside the front door. Already sweating with the sun beaming down on me, I put on my riding jacket, helmet and gloves.

The temperature was so high that even at speed there was no relief from the wind. It was a hot and sweaty ride on motorways to reach Harwich by the evening. The timing was perfect; the other four riders arrived within 10 minutes at Harwich Port and we checked in and rode on the ferry together. Two more riders were joining us later, one in Holland and one in Norway.

On board the ferry we checked into our cabins then regrouped for dinner, drinks and a good old catch-up. This is the third trip with the same group and it really felt like meeting up with old friends. They'd entrusted me to organise a three-week round trip to Nordkapp and here we were, on our way.

Ferries and tunnels

The first two days were fairly easy, albeit very hot. We woke up at the Hook of Holland and after picking up the fifth rider, we headed north. To break up the journey we took a slight detour for lunch in the quaint town of Lemmer where we sat by the canal watching the boats. The day wasn't long or very exciting, as Holland isn't exactly known for great motorcycling roads. We stuck to the motorways to get to Eemshaven as quickly as possible. Eemshaven launched a brand-new overnight ferry crossing to Norway in 2022 and it was fully booked. We were lucky to get our tickets and spent another night on the water.