After docking in Kristiansand we travelled a short distance to Lillesand where we explored  this quaint little seaside town before boarding a local tourist boat to cruise slowly around the inner archipeligo.  It  was beautiful, but we were intrigued with all the little holiday homes dotted everywhere, very close to the water’s edge and only accessible by boat.  They can be built there because this is a very sheltered area with little tide movement.   
One of the houses is built on a pontoon because the council would not give permission for it to be built on the land – and so it is a floating holiday home.  There is always a way around such problems with a little bit of ‘thinking outside the square’.

A bit sad as we boarded Oceania Marina for the last time  – a beautiful cruise ship with fantastic service, crew and dining options – of course we ate too much and didn’t get enough exercise, but who cares when we saw, learnt and experienced so many new places.  However our arrival back at the dock was brightened a little by a local reindeer wishing us safe travelling.