AndyB
Registered user
Earlier this year I went on an 8 day tour of Iceland, done on 4 wheels not 2. My mate Steve and I took an anticlockwise route round the island and these are a selection of photographs taken on the way. We went last week of May, just taken me a while to get to photo's ready to show.
Leaving the Airport we headed to the Blue Lagoon
Day 1 Blue Lagoon skies
From there we headed down on to the coast for our first go at unpaved surfaces
We made our fist stop in a hostel at Laugarvatn. Even at 11:30 the sunlight was like mid afternoon in the summer. Localy there are a number of hot springs and in the morning we went to have a look
From Laugarvatn we drove on to Geysir
Next a visit to one of Europes largest waterfalls at Gullfoss
With our ears still rining from the sound of the water, we headed inland in search of Icelands highest water fall Haifoss. This involved 17km of very rough gravel roads in to the middle of know where. Certainly a trip I would not have done on my own. A lonely but beautiful spot
Time to head back to the coast to continue our circuit. As we got near our destination it rained heavily and we were unable to photograph, what turned out to be, one of the prettiest waterfalls on the island.
Our second night was spent in a hostle at Skogarfoss. The waterfall could be seen from the rear of the hostel.
In the morning the rain turned to snow for 1/2 an hour and put a layer of white on the ground
From Skogar we headed towards Vik, making a couple of stops on the way for scenic views
The morning's snow dusted the higher ground, giving some wonderful views
The wind off the sea was quite strong, turning the surf white and the spray blowing inland
From Vik we continued on highway 1 through lava fields and on to the Fjadra River
Our 3rd night was spent at a little hostel at Hvoll and in the morning it afforded some of the best views I saw
6:30am and the air is clear and fresh and there is not a person in site for miles
We stopped at Nuppsstadur to view some of the best examples of turf rooved huts on the island.
Flat topped mountains, like these at Lomagnupur, form under glaciers
There is a large baron area created by glacial run off from the interior
View of a Glacier from the road on the way to Skaftafell
A few years ago a volcanoe errupted under the icesheet and melted a glacier. The resulting meltwater washed away the highway and serveral bridges. As a reminder of the event they left a couple of bridge girders where they ended up.
A view of the Skaftafell Glacier from the road
Round to the side of the glaciers is a waterfally that flows over hexagonal shapped rock, just like Giants Causeway in Ireland. This is Svartifoss. It had always looked big in the brochure, but was in fact quite small.
After the glaciers we headed for the glacial lagoon at Jokulsarlon.
The lagoon empties in to the sea and when the lumps of ice are small enough they float out in to the Atlantic. Typically it takes 5 - 7 years from calving the bergs, to them being small enough to leave the lagoon. The smaller bits wash up on the shore line where they slowly continue to melt.
We took a ride out in to the lagoon and were able to sample 1000 year old ice. The reason it is clear, is that it has always been under water. It only goes white when exposed to the air.
We finished the day in Hofn hostel for our 4th night.
We later learned that an American group of 4 who we met at the hostel crashed their 4x4 the following day and at least 1 was killed.
Day 5 was another early start, the hostel had been full and was noisey until quite late, so we had not slept very well. We managed to creep out without waking any one and were on the road before 7am. It is certainly worth getting up early for views like this
A stop for breakfast. You could hear the stones moving on the slope as they continue their journey to the sea.
Continuing our trip round the Eastern Fjords, still heading north.
Came accross an unusual loo stop
We drove up to the north east of the island to Syedisfjordur
There is a ferry from here to Norway that runs once a week. From the Hostel we watched it leave as it headed back home.
Day 6 dawned overcast and proved to be a rotten day for taking photographs. As we headed for the northern most point of the island, the clouds closed in and we saw only brief glimpses of the country when gaps appeared. The road became very challenging up 1:3 gradients
going down was even hairier with us being above the snow line for quite a while. The views continued to be elusive and at one point we had to turn arround on a very poor road due to the snow being too deep to drive through.
We reached the Arctic circle at the most northerly point of the island the gps read N66 31.003 W16 01.826.
The top corner of the island was flat and the coast covered in drift wood. It looked like some one had dumped hundreds of telegraph poles out at sea and let them drift on to the shore. We finished the night in Kopasker Hostel - it was some one's house that he allowed people to stay in.
Day 7 we set out for Dettifoss, but our first road was closed some 17km in and we had to retrace our steps. the water fall was dramatic, but the weather was poor, we ended up in a snow storm.
From Dettifoss we went to the geothermal area at Namafjall
We went up to look at Krafla geothermal power station and disapeared in a snow storm on the edge of the volcanoe. From there we headed to Lake Myvatn and Godafoss, the weather got worse so no pictures could be taken. We eventually reached Akureyri, Iclands second city, in the evening. A rather dissapointing couple of days and not many photgraphs
Akureyri was our last stop before a mad dash back to Reykjavik. We did venture out on to the west coast for a quick look as we went.
Round some of the Western fjords, this is Hvammsfjodur
We reached Reykjavik hostel late afternoon, found a bed and headed into town for some photos and a meal - the only one we bought out, as we self catered the rest of the time.
The city is renound for its sculptures and modern architecture
They also have a sense of humour with some of their sculptures
The weather was better than in the north, but the wind still came from that direction and it was quite raw.
The original discoverer of America - Leifr Ericsson
Our final morning saw us visit the Blue Lagoon for a couple of hours swiming in the hot pools, best way to finish the visit. A final view point before heading back to the airport and home
Steve and I hosteled around the island and it proved to be a cheap but comfortable way of getting accommodation. We met quite a few people who we bumped into during our trip, all of us heading the same way. In all it proved a very enjoyable experience and I would thoroughly recommend it to any one who fancies a bit of adventure without roughing it too much. Book early for the hostels and go before the tourist season kicks in. Early starts are always a good thing as you can get to view points before the tourists in their buses do.
Leaving the Airport we headed to the Blue Lagoon
Day 1 Blue Lagoon skies
From there we headed down on to the coast for our first go at unpaved surfaces
We made our fist stop in a hostel at Laugarvatn. Even at 11:30 the sunlight was like mid afternoon in the summer. Localy there are a number of hot springs and in the morning we went to have a look
From Laugarvatn we drove on to Geysir
Next a visit to one of Europes largest waterfalls at Gullfoss
With our ears still rining from the sound of the water, we headed inland in search of Icelands highest water fall Haifoss. This involved 17km of very rough gravel roads in to the middle of know where. Certainly a trip I would not have done on my own. A lonely but beautiful spot
Time to head back to the coast to continue our circuit. As we got near our destination it rained heavily and we were unable to photograph, what turned out to be, one of the prettiest waterfalls on the island.
Our second night was spent in a hostle at Skogarfoss. The waterfall could be seen from the rear of the hostel.
In the morning the rain turned to snow for 1/2 an hour and put a layer of white on the ground
From Skogar we headed towards Vik, making a couple of stops on the way for scenic views
The morning's snow dusted the higher ground, giving some wonderful views
The wind off the sea was quite strong, turning the surf white and the spray blowing inland
From Vik we continued on highway 1 through lava fields and on to the Fjadra River
Our 3rd night was spent at a little hostel at Hvoll and in the morning it afforded some of the best views I saw
6:30am and the air is clear and fresh and there is not a person in site for miles
We stopped at Nuppsstadur to view some of the best examples of turf rooved huts on the island.
Flat topped mountains, like these at Lomagnupur, form under glaciers
There is a large baron area created by glacial run off from the interior
View of a Glacier from the road on the way to Skaftafell
A few years ago a volcanoe errupted under the icesheet and melted a glacier. The resulting meltwater washed away the highway and serveral bridges. As a reminder of the event they left a couple of bridge girders where they ended up.
A view of the Skaftafell Glacier from the road
Round to the side of the glaciers is a waterfally that flows over hexagonal shapped rock, just like Giants Causeway in Ireland. This is Svartifoss. It had always looked big in the brochure, but was in fact quite small.
After the glaciers we headed for the glacial lagoon at Jokulsarlon.
The lagoon empties in to the sea and when the lumps of ice are small enough they float out in to the Atlantic. Typically it takes 5 - 7 years from calving the bergs, to them being small enough to leave the lagoon. The smaller bits wash up on the shore line where they slowly continue to melt.
We took a ride out in to the lagoon and were able to sample 1000 year old ice. The reason it is clear, is that it has always been under water. It only goes white when exposed to the air.
We finished the day in Hofn hostel for our 4th night.
We later learned that an American group of 4 who we met at the hostel crashed their 4x4 the following day and at least 1 was killed.
Day 5 was another early start, the hostel had been full and was noisey until quite late, so we had not slept very well. We managed to creep out without waking any one and were on the road before 7am. It is certainly worth getting up early for views like this
A stop for breakfast. You could hear the stones moving on the slope as they continue their journey to the sea.
Continuing our trip round the Eastern Fjords, still heading north.
Came accross an unusual loo stop
We drove up to the north east of the island to Syedisfjordur
There is a ferry from here to Norway that runs once a week. From the Hostel we watched it leave as it headed back home.
Day 6 dawned overcast and proved to be a rotten day for taking photographs. As we headed for the northern most point of the island, the clouds closed in and we saw only brief glimpses of the country when gaps appeared. The road became very challenging up 1:3 gradients
going down was even hairier with us being above the snow line for quite a while. The views continued to be elusive and at one point we had to turn arround on a very poor road due to the snow being too deep to drive through.
We reached the Arctic circle at the most northerly point of the island the gps read N66 31.003 W16 01.826.
The top corner of the island was flat and the coast covered in drift wood. It looked like some one had dumped hundreds of telegraph poles out at sea and let them drift on to the shore. We finished the night in Kopasker Hostel - it was some one's house that he allowed people to stay in.
Day 7 we set out for Dettifoss, but our first road was closed some 17km in and we had to retrace our steps. the water fall was dramatic, but the weather was poor, we ended up in a snow storm.
From Dettifoss we went to the geothermal area at Namafjall
We went up to look at Krafla geothermal power station and disapeared in a snow storm on the edge of the volcanoe. From there we headed to Lake Myvatn and Godafoss, the weather got worse so no pictures could be taken. We eventually reached Akureyri, Iclands second city, in the evening. A rather dissapointing couple of days and not many photgraphs
Akureyri was our last stop before a mad dash back to Reykjavik. We did venture out on to the west coast for a quick look as we went.
Round some of the Western fjords, this is Hvammsfjodur
We reached Reykjavik hostel late afternoon, found a bed and headed into town for some photos and a meal - the only one we bought out, as we self catered the rest of the time.
The city is renound for its sculptures and modern architecture
They also have a sense of humour with some of their sculptures
The weather was better than in the north, but the wind still came from that direction and it was quite raw.
The original discoverer of America - Leifr Ericsson
Our final morning saw us visit the Blue Lagoon for a couple of hours swiming in the hot pools, best way to finish the visit. A final view point before heading back to the airport and home
Steve and I hosteled around the island and it proved to be a cheap but comfortable way of getting accommodation. We met quite a few people who we bumped into during our trip, all of us heading the same way. In all it proved a very enjoyable experience and I would thoroughly recommend it to any one who fancies a bit of adventure without roughing it too much. Book early for the hostels and go before the tourist season kicks in. Early starts are always a good thing as you can get to view points before the tourists in their buses do.
Looks like a fantastic place to go.
