The village of Stamnshella, at the mouth of the Bolstadfjorden, has been a church site since the early 14th century. Today the village lies on highway 569, connecting Bergen to the island of Osteroy via bridges over the Bolstadfjorden and the Veafjorden. We’d driven along a portion of the Bolstadfjorden on our 2018 day trip from Bergen to Hardangerfjord, and this time explored the beautiful waterway by tender while anchored off Stamnshella.

En route we passed several elaborate fishing platforms, stopped to look at a log transport cableway and took in the the triple waterfall from the river Tysso. On what ended up being a 61-nm tender trip, we then headed north under the Kallestadsundet Bridge to Osteroy and into the waterways north of the island. In Eidsfjorden we viewed the spectacular 300-ft (90m) twin waterfall Hesjedalsfossen, pictured above, and in Romarheimsfjorden we passed through the dramatic gorge at the Mostraumen narrows and had a picnic lunch at the head of Mojfjorden in Mo with waterfalls on either side.

Below are highlights from Sept 17th, 2020. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

Cliffs Position: 60°31.50’N, 5°42.83’E Passing 2,000-ft (630m) cliffs along the east side of the island of Osteroy.

Veafjorden Position: 60°33.34’N, 5°43.11’E Travelling through beautiful Veafjorden along the east side of the island of Osteroy. Norway has no shortage of spectacular scenery.

Fyletjorna Position: 60°35.81’N, 5°43.57’E Waterfall from the river Fyletjorna flowing into the east side of Veafjorden.

Stamnshella Position: 60°39.73’N, 5°44.80’E Anchored off the village of Stamnshella for a tender tour of the area.

Pedestrian Bridge Position: 60°39.97’N, 5°46.24’E Pedestrian bridge over the north end of Bolstadstraumen. With Dirona‘s 9.1m air draft, we could just pass under the the 10m-high span, but it looks awfully tight.

Bolstadstraumen Bridge Position: 60°39.48’N, 5°48.05’E The Bolstadstraumen bridge was completed in 1963, replacing a shuttle boat. Although it looks higher than the pedestrian bridge, the clearance is only 7m, so this is as far as Dirona could go.

Fishing Platform Position: 60°39.24’N, 5°48.16’E One of several elaborate fishing platforms along the Bolstadstraumen. We’re told fishing here isn’t allowed, but these platforms are grandfathered in and owned by “clubs” whose members are allowed to fish from them.

Firewood Position: 60°37.40’N, 5°51.45’E Large firewood supply below a house at Fornes. We see such caches frequently on our tours of more remote areas in Norway.

Cableway Position: 60°38.10’N, 5°52.05’E A cableway heading up a steep slope, used to transport firewood back down.

River Tysso Position: 60°38.15’N, 5°53.74’E Triple waterfalls where the river Tysso empties into Bolstadfjorden. The falls are visible briefly from the E16 highway at the eastern entrance to the Trollkone Tunnel.

Bolstad Position: 60°38.47’N, 5°57.11’E Playing in the current from the river Bolstadelvi at the head of Bolstadfjorden. This was as far as we could proceed in our tender tour. The area around the town of Bolstad here has been settled since at least 500 BC and has long been an important junction for traffic in the region. From 1868 until 1915 a steamship operated between Bolstand and Bergen. The advent of railway in 1883 gradually reduced water traffic in the area.

Kallestadsundet Bridge Position: 60°40.39’N, 5°44.20’E Approaching the Kallestadsundet Bridge in the tender. The 600-ft (200m) bridge, opened in 1985, was the first bridge to connect Osteroy island to the mainland.

Hesjedalsfossen Position: 60°41.95’N, 5°45.74’E The spectacular 300-ft (90m) twin waterfall Hesjedalsfossen, with an old stone bridge crossing the outflow at bottom left. The river is the only one in the Vaksdal municipality that hasn’t been diverted for hydroelectric power.

Tunnel Window Position: 60°43.40’N, 5°47.30’E Window in the road tunnel Hesjadalstunnelen just north of Hesjedalsfossen.

Mysteralva Position: 60°43.74’N, 5°47.63’E The bridge over the river Mysteralva with the 1925 Eidsland church partly visible at left.

Romarheimsfjorden Position: 60°45.61’N, 5°42.17’E Dramatic scenery in Romarheimsfjorden.

Mostraumen Position: 60°45.93’N, 5°43.47’E Approaching the narrow gorge Mostraumen. The narrow and shallow gorge is a popular destination for tourist day-cruise boats from Bergen. The waterway initially was a river through which boats were towed through to reach the lake Motvatnet until a 1743 flood altered the river enough that saltwater reached the lake at higher tides and it became Mofjorden. The channel was deepened in 1886 and again in 1913, bringing it to a depth of 11.5ft (3.5m) so steamships could pass through even at low tide. The lake Motvatnet was probably several meters higher than Mofjorden is today.

Tender Position: 60°46.01’N, 5°44.07’E Enjoying the trip through Mostraumen in the tender. We were considering bringing Dirona through, but the combination of relatively shallow water and current made the tender a better choice.

Castle in Modalen Position: 60°47.09’N, 5°45.80’E The 650-ft (200m) rock formation known as the “Castle in Modelan” is a miniature version of the more famous Pulpit Rock.

Mo Position: 60°48.57’N, 5°47.16’E The town of Mo at the head of Mofjorden with Kvernhusfossen flowing down from over 650ft (200m) on the left.

Lunch Position: 60°48.90’N, 5°47.87’E Lunch at a private picnic table in Mo with a view to Kvernhusfossen.

Bargsaa Position: 60°48.91’N, 5°47.87’E The view east from our picnic spot is pretty nice too. This is looking across Mofjorden to the waterfall from the river Bargsaa.

Dirona Position: 60°39.77’N, 5°44.52’E Back at Dirona moored off Stamnshella after a fabulous 61-nm tender trip of the area. We sure love having a high-speed, comfortable and capable tender.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.