Part Three - Iceland Adventure

Journey during Part Three of our Iceland Adventure

Reykjavik, the most northerly capital city in the world is by far the largest settlement in Iceland. Nearly two thirds of the country's population lives in greater Reykjavik, mind you that's only 248,000 people and a mere 140,000 people live in the city itself so it's tiny by comparison with most other capital cities. It's a happening place though with plenty of bars, restaurants, galleries and museums.

Our hotel, 22 Hill, is a big disappointment. Not cheap by any means, our hopes were for something better. First of all, the code we were given to get in the front door didn't work so we can't get in.

Outside of our room is a mess (see the picture above), not great.

The room is small and has three beds crammed into it as well as an immense T.V. which is positioned in such a way that it can only be viewed from one of the beds. It is a weird place and one we won't return to.

The city is quite small, a great size for a wander round and it has some interesting buildings and very posh shops.

The Hallgrimskirkja Evangelical Lutheran Church, Reykjavik's answer to a catherdral is a triumph and we are lucky enough to see it with the evening sun turning it from grey to gold. The tower rises to 74.5 metres and is the largest church and one of the tallest structures in Iceland, it took 41 years to build! Its design is based on the basalt rock columns which can be seen in many places in Iceland.

We take advantage of Reykjavik's urban facilities to find a launderette - and what a launderette! The Laundromat Cafe is a great place, a trendy restaurant upstairs with a launderette in the basement; you can have lunch while doing your washing, great idea!

The next day we head over to one of Reykjavik's exhibition centres - Perlan - where you can learn all about the natural world of Iceland. The building is amazing, a giant glass dome resting atop six massive water storage tanks - four of which are still in operation and have a capacity of about 4 million litres of geothermally heated water each!

Of the two tanks no longer in use, one now houses a planetarium with an amazing Northern Lights 360 degrees show and the other contains a man-made ice cave. The cave is 100 metres long and built with over 350 tons of snow from the Blue Mountains; it's minus 15 in there and it feels it brrrr!

There are a number of other really interesting and interactive exhibtion galleries telling us about volcanoes, earthquakes, wildlife and lots more besides. Perlan really brings home just how varied the natural world of Iceland is and the myriad forces at work shaping and re-shaping it constantly.

We leave Reykjavik glad to have visited once more but looking forward to getting on with exploring more of the natural wonders of this amazing country.

On our route is Seljalandsfoss, yet another waterfall but this one has a USP, it is possible to walk behind the 60 metres cascade and with a waterfall of this size it really is something special despite the fact that we are just two of many tourists. An interesting fact is that the cliff over which the water rushes once marked the country's coastline which is now about 6 km away.

Nick has read about a secret, geothermal pool hidden away in an area of great natural beauty and we're both very keen to visit.

It turns out that it isn't as secret as we've been led to believe but it is in a very beautiful area and the walk to it is lovely. It's amazing to find a man-made pool here as it's so out of the way. It's maintained by locals - and there's no charge to use it.

The wind is strong and cold again and the water in the pool is disappointingly cool, no more than tepid and we really don't feel like a swim. Janette is known for swimming in the sea at all times of the year and in all weather conditions but even she can't be persuaded today. We leave it to two brave Dutch couples to sample... never mind it was a nice thing to see.

There is no let up in the wind when we pitch camp at another waterfall - Skogafoss - so we decide to set up our ground floor tent to provide a bit of extra shelter but to be honest it's a pretty miserable evening and we're cold and fed up by bedtime.

Our sleeping tent is great though and we are warm and cosy as the wind whistles outside. although at times it does feel as if we may take off!

We awake to the news that the Sundhnuks crater row has started to erupt for a sixth time since December. A state of emergency has been announced. This eruption isn't far from Reykjavik but we've missed it by about six hours. A crater row is a different beast from the classic cone shaped volcano, instead of a central crater it erupts by opening a long fissure - in this case around 3.9 km long - in the ground from which lava seeps, as this library photo shows....

It would have been so exciting to see the eruption. We're aware that the eruptions have been devastating for the inhabitants of the town of Grindavik which was evacuated in November 2023. Many residents haven't been back even though efforts have been made to protect the town by building barriers to divert the lava flow. The police are wanting people to stay away, so if we re-trace our steps to try to see it, we don’t think we'd be allowed to get close and the roads would likely be closed.

From fire to ice.....the Solheimajokull glacier. This is an outlet glacier of the mighty Myrdalsjokull glacier and it is about 8 km long and 2 km wide but like glaciers worldwide it is shrinking at an alarming rate - the length of an Olympic swimming pool every year. We can see the ice turning to water before our eyes and there are mini icebergs which have broken off from the glacier floating in the lagoon below which itself has formed as a result of melt water.

Although you can't walk on the glacier unless as part of a guided hike, it is possible to walk right up to it unaccompanied. Janette has never seen a glacier before and it does not disappoint; it is massive and other-worldly and apart from the dripping water everything is silent.

Because it’s in a volcanic area, there is lots and lots of volcanic ash in and on the glacier so it looks completely black in places. Nick isn't actually floating in that photo it's just an optical illusion!

The next part of our journey takes us to the coast which will always be Janette's true love when it comes to landscapes. The coast here at Dyrholaey is amazing - towering cliffs, huge rock arches and beaches of jet black sand, really special.

This area is known for its bird life and we do see lots of sea birds but sadly no puffins; we always seem to be out of luck when we try to see them.

A thing that has tickled us on this trip has been the road signs we often see, placed at the last moment, just before a turn off and giving far more information than can possibly be taken in as you drive by - here's an example!

The Vatnajokulspjodgardor National Park has been recommended to us as being an area containing pristine wilderness and unique geological formations - we're keen to explore.

The park covers an area of 14,141 square km and as such is one of the largest national parks in Europe.

So we turn off the tarmac road onto another F-Road. The scenery as we drive up into the mountains is beautiful for sure; it is greener here than the northern highlands and that gives it a gentler look though it's still an uninhabited wilderness.

We notice that from a distance, much of the vegetation has a silvery sheen.

On closer inspection, it's a plant growing in amongst the moss.......

....which covers a landscape full of lumps and bumps - a moss-covered lava field.

We are heading for a camp ground which we know nothing about. It's on the map, but it isn't on the app we often use to find places to stay. We don't usually mention the names of places where we stay unless they are particularly good, or particularly bad - like the hotel in Reykjavik.

This place, although extremely remote is particularly good and it's called Holaskjol Highland Centre. We receive a warm welcome and it's set in a beautiful place.

We start to set up camp and as we do so we are joined by a number of other 4x4 vehicles, some of the occupants are staying in the accommodation on site, but a number have rooftop tents like us.

In the UK Rocky looks pretty 'meaty' but Iceland is the home of serious off-roading vehicles and Rocky is dwarfed! Icelanders take their 4x4s seriously and with good reason, the terrain is unforgiving.

We've previously spoken in this blog about Iceland's F-Roads; for those who live and work in these areas a meaty 4x4 is a must for daily life - especially in the winter months, but also the fun that can be had driving on these roads creates an active market and enthusiastic user-base for leisure off-roading.

Not only is there the opportunity to drive in the highlands across rocky and rough terrain but in winter there is opportunity to travel over snow and glaciers.

The vehicles equipped to deal with the challenges presented by the back roads of Iceland require unique characteristics - 4x4 of course but many also have large, metal studded tyres to give good grip and minimise damage to the terrain as well as huge ground clearance to survive deep river crossings.

Nick's tongue is hanging out with envy!

At Holaskjol we meet Brian, a Scot who has lived in Iceland for 23 years and in the summer works as a Ranger in the Park. He spots our UK numberplate and comes over to introduce himself. He very kindly takes time to advise us on areas in the Park that may interest us and he shows us various routes on the map. We're all packed, our route is sorted, so we head for the hills!

But after driving for about 8 miles through this most beautiful landscape, disaster strikes!

While attempting to traverse a river Rocky has an encounter with a particularly viscious underwater rock. The alloy wheel completely splits and one of the drive shafts shears. The car won't move at all and is making a dreadful noise. This is serious damage and it really looks as if our trip has been knocked completely off track.

We're in a bad situation, completely stranded in the mountains in a very remote area and it's getting cold. Our return ferry is booked for four days time. The port is a 6 hour drive away - but we now have no car. The only public transport is a bus which is 70km away, it only operates twice a week and would take more than a day to get to the ferry! This is bad, we don't know what to do, is our adventure over, how will we get Rocky down from the mountains, how will we get him fixed, how will we get home?

....Find out in our next blog!