As we have booked the 7am Fjord1 fast ferry from Kristiansand to Hirtshals
Denmark for tomorrow we got up earlier this morning to continue along route 44 from Egersund to Flekkifjord and then the E39 into Krisiansand.
This is a great coastal drive in fine weather unfortunately today it is very heavy rain and strong winds
We still stopped to checkout the more interesting places, although we stayed in the Hymermobile for most. For some reason we were expecting this southern coast road to be flatter and were surprised that the road was so mountainous, with the usual narrowing in the tricky parts. That is one of the road tunnels in the picture.
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| R44 Coastal Road |
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| Helleren Rock Houses Jossingfjord |
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| E39 to Kristiansand |
At the head of the Jossingfjord at Helleren are two houses built under the overhanging cliff, The word “Helleren” actually describes the large rock formation you can see here and may be found in several ancient place names in Norway, where a “heller” offers shelter to people and animals. This particular “heller” is one of the larger ones in Norway. The houses under Helleren are remnants from a very old settlement. The architecture of the present houses can be traced back to early 1800s, but parts of the constructions may be older. People eked out a living on fish from the sea and domestic animals (typically sheep) that could survive on the little fodder available. The houses are without proper roofing because the rock formation protects the buildings today like it did in the past. In the black, rich cultural layer covering the ground at Helleren archeologists have traced settlements from the early Stone Age. Helleren is now abandoned.
We drove into the centre of Krisiansand and followed the signs to the ferry terminal. There are usually overnight 
motorhome parking facilities somewhere near a ferry terminal and we found an overnight parking area next to the railway station. It used a swipe your credit card system to log you in with a ticket and you re swipe your card when you exit and the appropriate fee of 60 NOK is automatically deducted.