Soon after I arrived in Tromsø I came across a map of the Karlsøy Archipelago in a book shop. The map showed many uninhabited islands that were not serviced by ferries. Although I had no way to get to the islands at that time, I bought the map immediately. I planned to work out the details later.
Three years later, and having bought a small inflatable dingy I landed on the beach at Grøtøya under a rather ominous sky. Although I had plenty of food and water I didn't really want to get stuck there due to bad weather. There were no footprints in the sand, no sign of any campfires, no sign that anyone had been there for a long time.
I found plenty of driftwood on the beach to make a campfire. Unfortunately some of it turned out to be soaked in something that made a lot of smoke when it burned. The smoke rather spoiled the pristine atmosphere.
After a boil-in-the-bag dinner I went to bed hoping that the good weather forecast for the following day would arrive as predicted.
In the morning the sun was beating down. My minus 20 degrees winter sleeping bag was nice and cosy during the night but in the morning boil-in-the-bag had a new meaning! I crawled out of my tent and guzzled half the fresh water I brought with me in one go.
After a coffee I started climbing towards the top of the island. It was a steep scramble up the cliff behind the beach, but the view was worth it.
Above the cliff, there was a huge meadow with great views of Sørfugleøya to the West.
From the summit there were great views in every direction.
The image above shows Rebbenesøya and the smaller island of Andammen. I sat and watched another small boat travel from one end of this panorama to the other. The wind was so calm that I could almost make out the voices of two people in the boat. The image below shows Nord-Kvaløya. I want to go on a similar trip there next summer.
On my way down from the top I stopped to pick some cloud berries in the meadow. I collected a water bottle full of them in only half an hour. I saw a lot of grouse in the meadow - they are supposed to be very tasty but I don't know about hunting them.
Back in Tromsø I saw that the Norwegian national broadcasting company was asking people to send in pictures of beautiful beaches in Norway. I couldn't resist sending in a picture from Grøtøya. I doubt many people from Tromsø visit Grøtøya due to the lack of public ferry. That is a shame because it is spectacular. Anyone who makes the effort to get there will probably have the island to themselves.
