Iceland Part Two

Geysir & Stokkur

After camping at Skogafoss for the night, we headed off pretty early back along the south coast to Geysir. Having never been to the North Island of New Zealand, this was a new experience for me (Steph). The smell of the sulphur was nowhere near as bad as I had imagined (I hardly noticed it), and the periodically spouting hot spring was very cool! It was really strange to see little streams of almost boiling water running through the rocks and it was very difficult to resist wanting to touch it.

Icelandic Horses

Aren't they just so handsome?! These guys were so inquisitive. When we approached the fence from the side of the road, they were on the other side of the paddock but once they spotted us, much to my delight, they came galloping towards us with their very silly fringes and a convoy of flies...

Gullfoss

Close to Geysir was the very popular Gullfoss. This waterfall, derived from the Hvítá river which comes from the lake of the Lángjökull glacier, gushes towards a 32m large crevice that creates a lot of spray and is moderately terrifying!

Fontana Springs

In need of a good soak, we visited Fontana Springs and spent a couple of hours enjoying the geothermal mineral springs (averaging 28-36 degrees), as well as their sauna and steam rooms. Divine!

Waking up just outside of Borgarnes

After far too much driving, we finally decided to pull in off the road along a little path that looked like it would offer us a place to stay for the night. A little spinning of the tyres up a small hill later we arrived at a stunning little spot by a lake. Both pretty tired and grumpy, we boiled some water and, yet again, had instant noodles for dinner alongside a bottle of red. We were much more in awe of our sleeping spot the next morning! The colours in the volcanic earth were stunning.

Kirkjufellsfoss

Apparently the most photographed spot in Iceland. The weather was pretty drizzly and grey whilst we were there and we didn't have the time to stick around for better light. To be honest, we were a little underwhelmed after seeing some of Iceland's other natural wonders!

Saxholl Crater

One of the unexpected treasurers we ran into while on the peninsula, a 100 odd metre high extinct volcano chimney. Winding up the side, the stairs made of slightly rusty iron, stood out starkly against the slate grey and black of the lava rocks covering the small mountain. The rocks themselves were unbelievably light and melted into crazy shapes with odd angles that screwed with your eyes. The centre was a verdant little oasis of moss, grass and little birds and from the rim we had a stunning view of the surrounding lava plains.

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Onward we went across the lava plains towards the western most point of iceland. The peninsula itself is volcanically active and exists because of the large glacier bound volcano that hulks above the entire place, which lends a fairly ominous glory to everything you look at. It was most cloud topped while we were there but it still dominated much of the viewing along the coast. The volcanism creates amazing colours and landscapes we're rocks have crumbed and various elements like iron and copper add crazy palates to the already surreal valleys and hills.

Víðgelmir Cave

Beware of trolls and elves they lurk in Icelandic caves or so we were reliably told. The cave itself is 15 minutes down one of the more dodgy unsealed roads you'll come across up to what can charitably be described as a school portable building. However, once you leave those salubrious surrounds and head out onto another stark lava plain, you quickly discover one of the crazier outcomes of lava flows. Once the lava hits the air the top forms a crust, kind of like a creme brûlée, and the hot lava flows underneath. Sometimes when it hits a harder rock, it will begin to tunnel (melt away the stuff in its way) underground, forming giant worm like tunnels. "The Cave" is one such, a couple of kilometres of lava tunnels with crazy walls that looked like they were covered in ice magic and rocks in all sorts of crazy reds and blues.

Back to Þingvellir National Park

We returned to Þingvellir National Park to get a view of the Silfra, the point where the American and European continents are slowly pulling apart. The area is full of canyons and small lakes filled with the clearest water you can imagine.

Blue Lagoon

One of the many oddities of Iceland the Blue Lagoon. Made of industrial run off from the creation of electricity from underground hot springs, these lagoons of iridescent blue and white create a totally alien looking landscape. Around 30 years ago some guy looking to cure a skin condition started swimming in it (must have been a really bad condition) and discovered apparent healing properties. Like everything else in Iceland it doesn't have anything around it, sitting alone 30ks from anything but full of tour buses and people. Truely a fascinating addition to the glorious weirdness of Iceland.