Toni: Valldal Summer Games

Valldal is a small town located on the Norwegian national tourist route between Geirangerfjord a UNESCO world heritage site and Trollstigen. Apart from it's famed strawberry cake the main reason we visited Valldal was to take part in the annual Valldal Summer Games.

Katya improving her time down the race course (photo by Melissa Parminter)

Me stoked to be back in a fast boat (photo by Melissa Parminter)

The Valldal Summer Games includes a mountain bike race, a kayak race, and a hillbilly farmer hard man competition. The kayak race is normally down the Myklebust (or 'micky mouse') rapids but due to high water levels the race was moved to the middle section of the Valldala river.

The substitute racecourse (photo by Melissa Parminter)

Results from the men's competition:

1st Sam Sutton

2nd Dag Sandvik

3rd Mikel Sarasola

Results from the women's competition:

1st Toni George

2nd Louise Jull

3rd Maria Berdal

All set up for the hillbilly competition (photo by Melissa Parminter)

Hillbilly grandstand (photo by Melissa Parminter)

Following the kayak racing there was the farmer competition. The race went as follows: first you have to put on a coverall and hat over your clothes, next you wheel a wheelbarrow filled with sandbags a certain distance, then with a stake you had to dig a hole then use a mallet to hammer a post into it, then you had to flip a tractor tire a certain amount of time, then drink a glass of milk, then take the wheel barrow back to the start.

Yes I'm from Auckland, no I have no idea how to hammer in a post, but I'll give it a go, participation is key (photo by Melissa Parminter)

good times watching a games (photo by Melissa Parminter)

Lulu giving it a go (photo by Melissa Parminter)

After getting the competition explained to us I decided it sounded like a good laugh and signed up to give it a go. Unfortunately for Lulu she didn't know I'd already signed up and she agreed to participate if I did it. Muahaha. The hardest part of the competition was drinking the milk, as I'm allergic to milk I got to drink beer, bonus! Lulu wasn't so lucky but gave it her best shot and chugged it down like a trooper only to bring it back up seconds later. 10 points for effort and 20 points for comic value, its all about getting amongst it.