The Norwegian Land Rover Club, North Section

We have been invited by the Norwegian Land Rover Club, North Section for their end-of-year gathering in Setermoen on November 27 and 28, 2021. Remi, the North Section President, approached us at the Biltema car park in Finnsnes.

We gladly accept the invitation and drive on the 27th to the location indicated by Remi on the map. We are warmly welcomed by the men and a single woman sitting by the campfire.

With interest our car is inspected and largely approved, only there is some criticism about the tires and the studs I put in them. We tell stories about our travels and experience the universal Land Rover enthusiasm.

It gets dark early, so after sitting by the fire with a cup of hot coffee, we go inside to share our experiences with others.

We sit down at the table with Torun and Christian and are welcomed like good acquaintances. More coffee for me and fresh tea for Sonja follows and they show a lot of interest in our travel stories and experiences. From all sides we get good advice about traveling in the Arctic climate and of course great stories from those present.

A few tips we got:

• The studs in the tires are especially effective if they are applied at the outer edges of the tread;
• About 100 studs have to be fitted in each tire (we bought them at the Felleskjoppet in Norway, 7,9×9,8mm, 100 in a box, about €85 per box);
• The tires get even more grip when micro-cuts are applied, any good tire shop in Norway can do this. The process of making these small cuts across the tread is called siping;
• A fuel problem in this cold climate is almost always caused by (condensation) water in the diesel. Condensation occurs more often with a steel tank than with a (more modern) plastic tank. If you enter a warm area with the car – for example in a garage – condensation can form, make sure your fuel tank is filled.

At dinner we are treated to an extensive buffet ordered from the local caterer.

There is delicious fresh salmon, smoked, marinated and grilled; various meat products; a stew of reindeer meat and various salads, rice and bread. We enjoy the abundance of food and are offered a beer with it.

In the evening there is an auction of all kinds of Land Rover attributes and knick-knacks, there is a lot of bidding so that the club finances are well topped up. We are offered a vacuum-packed salted and dried leg of lamb from one of the members, I cannot refuse, so I gladly accept it. It is to be shared later in the Netherlands.
The evening is getting late with more beer and wine and more and more tall tales. Suddenly one of the smokers enters enthusiastically, we can see Northern Lights, our first time!

It’s just a taste, Christian assures us, the real spectacle is yet to come, tonight or at a later date. We think it’s beautiful and we enjoy it.

When Torun and Christian go home, they assure us that we should visit them in Tromsø. We promise and we greet each other “goodbye”.

A number of guests, without drink, go home, a number stay the night. Inside camp beds and air mattresses are set up and outside are a few tents. Of course we also sleep in our own bed.

It’s -20°C at night, but it’s easy to keep warm under our woolen duvet.

The next morning there is enough left over from the buffet for a luxurious breakfast. It’s Sunday, so breakfast is set up around 10am. Everyone still enjoys breakfast and a large amount of coffee and after that more and more people break up and go home.

It was a great experience to experience the hospitality of these Northern Norwegians.

This is a video impression of this weekend: