Today we visited two white sand beaches and hiked up the mountain called Veggen. Once we got to the top, we enjoyed terrific views in all directions. Veggen has a ridge at the
top, so there is a northern and southern viewpoint. However, the hike up Veggen was challenging for me. The trail simply goes
right up the side on a sharp gradient. There are a couple of spots where hikers must hoist themselves over rocks. This was definitely a trail where I was glad to be using my hiking poles.
On the way down the steep slope of Veggen I proceded carefully; nevertheless, I accidentally dislodged a large rock. The rock bounced down the mountainside a long way,
picking up speed as it went. It was almost comical how far that rock bounced. I was very, very glad that there was no one below me on the trail - since the path goes in a straight line up Veggen, any hiker
coming up would have been directly in the path of that wayward rock. Uttakleiv is a beautiful white sand beach. We walked around a bit to explore the area. There is an easy coastal trail that can be walked over to Haukland - we went partway along this path, looking up at Veggen as we went.
We drove through a tunnel to get to Haukland from Uttakleiv beach. Lonely Planet named Haukland Beach the best beach in Europe. It is
similar to Uttakleiv, though perhaps more visited due to its fame.
