Total MX-5 – July 2019

Summer 2019 | TOTAL MX-5 |^53

[ ROAD TRIP ]

temperature tickled by the Gulfstream

which keeps it clear of sea ice. For

Russian gas and oil producers, this

makes Nordkapp an ideal location for

transferring their wares to buyers’

vessels.

Before getting stuck in to the trip I

decide that it would be beneficial to get

a feel for the road surface conditions and

how the mk4 responds to them. So I

stamp hard on the brakes, expecting to

hear the distinctive chatter of hard-

working ABS as the system struggles to

slow the car down. Instead we just stop,

straight, true, swiftly. Hard acceleration

gets the tail squirming briefly, and then

the stability control asserts itself and the

drama subsides. Throwing the steering

wheel hard from lock to lock does

unsettle the grip from the studs, but not

as much as you’d think given

we’re driving on compacted

snow and ice.

I’m feeling more confident

now and approach the first real

bend we’ve encountered at

normal road speed. Mistake. The

nose starts drifting wide, I dab

the brakes and the tail slithers,

and then the stability control

does its thing. There’s no great

speed involved and my passenger

is blissfully unaware what’s

happened, but it’s another vital

lesson learned in not being too

cocky on Arctic highways.

Much further along the road than

we’d been expecting, we come to the

queue to go through the Honningsvåg

Tunnel. Honningsvåg is actually on an

island, Magerøya, and the

6875m-long undersea tunnel

links it to the mainland. But

its entrances are susceptible

to avalanches and drifting

snow, hence our delay this

morning, and when

conditions are bad the

authorities operate a

convoy system to take

you through it. Because

the convoy continues for

many miles beyond the

tunnel the wait can be

prolonged: not that the

local drivers seem

upset, it’s just part of

life in the frozen north.

Once the tunnel has spat us safely out

the other side, signs of human life

become fewer and fewer. Small clusters

of houses become lone dwellings with

no visible means of accessing them from

either land or sea, and with no lights

shining from within. No mini-marts or

cafes or fuel stations. No churches,

either, as if everyone has resigned

themselves to the fact that this is a god-

forsaken part of the world. Just Nature in

her full white majesty.

Because Sharron and I have been

stopping to take photographs the rest of

the MX-5 procession has disappeared

into the distance. Somewhere behind us

is a sweeper vehicle, but at several

points we’re alone in a very small red

car in a very large wilderness. On one

long straight we stop the car, entranced

by the wriggling streaks of fast-blown

snow that seemingly are following the

same path as us. They’re making the

surface look as though it’s a living entity

and at times cover the road so

completely that it’s only the ever-present

road marker poles that convince us that

we’re not parked in a field.

It’s beautiful stuff but it’s hard to

escape the sense of menace that

accompanies extreme weather. Stepping

out of the mk4’s warm embrace to take

pictures and the punch of the cold air is

immediate yet not overly unpleasant: a

minute later exposed skin begins to feel

like it’s being burned and a minute after

that the cold has sunk so far through

your muscles that you have to retreat

back into the car. We figure that

hypothermia wouldn’t take long to find

you if you went off the road out here, and

proceed with extra caution.

After miles of open plains and

deserted roads, we crest a rise and

unexpectedly find habitation and a fuel

station. With a café. We haven’t really

come very far, maybe 100 miles or so,

and it has taken us several hours, but the

chance for refreshment isn’t to be

passed up. The place turns out to be an

oasis in a desert of snow, and along with

pantry essentials the shelves are packed

with spares for your skidoo, hunting

knives and survival kits. Before we press

on we’re treated to a golden comedy

moment when one of Mazda’s sweeper

On one long straight we stop the car,

entranced by the wriggling streaks of snow that

seemingly are following the same path as us

“

“

Above: Cafes are few
and very far between in
northern Norway

Left: It may not look it,
but this road was so icy
that Fraser almost fell
on his face when he got

out to take this photo.

Because of the studs on

the tyres, from behind

the wheel you’d never

have guessed it was so

slippery