Photo: Bjoertvedt·CC BY-SA 3.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Fredrikstad / Søndre Søster
The southernmost of the Søster islets in the outer Oslofjord, southwest of Fredrikstad. It is exposed, storm-beaten rock, a clear landmark in the skerries, with birdlife.
Søndre Søster is the southernmost of the Søster islets, the outermost pair in the Oslofjord southwest of Fredrikstad. Towards open water it is a low, treeless rock, exposed and barren, a clear landmark in the shipping lane. Birds nest on the rock shelves.
Check Naturbase; probably a seabird reserve with an access ban in the breeding season (typically 15 April to 15 July). The boundaries and the rules are in Naturbase, and they are worth checking before you land anywhere outside the marked areas.
Own boat or kayak.
No scheduled boat comes here. You will have to find the nearest public quay yourself, and the rest is your own boat or a kayak. Check the wind and wave forecast before you set out. The open stretches in the outer fjord turn unpleasant in a fresh breeze.
Søndre and Nordre Søster are two islets in the outer skerries between Fredrikstad, Hvaler and the open fjord. They have served as a sailing mark for generations of boat crews, in water with little shelter. No separate history of use or settlement for Søndre Søster is documented in the sources used here. It is too exposed for anyone to have lived on. Its significance is its position at the outer end of the shipping lane, and the birdlife.
Søndre Søster is an uninhabited, treeless islet with seabirds. Passing boaters and kayakers use it as a bearing and as a place to stop in good weather. No grazing animals, cabins or installations are known here.
Reachable only by your own boat or kayak, and landing needs calm water since it is fully exposed. Protection: the Søster islets sit in an area with several seabird reserves. An access ban in the breeding season, often 15 April to 15 July along this coast, is likely, but the exact regulation for Søndre Søster has not been verified here. Look it up in Naturbase, the national database of protected areas, before landing, particularly in spring and early summer. There is no ferry.
The name describes a pair: Nordre and Søndre Søster, two islets lying together at the outer edge towards the open fjord. Pass Søndre Søster heading south and you soon have Hvaler and the open sea ahead.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Søndre Søster on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Søndre Søster på norsk.