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Published: August 21st 2018
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We have reached the half way point of our trip around Iceland. The odometer is about to tick over to half of our allocated distance and we are 10 days in to a 20 day trip. So far, so good. In this post we will cover some of waterfalls and lakes in this central part of the North, talk a little about camping Iceland style and outline our planning for the next leg of the trip into the Highlands.
We have previously camped in Europe for extended periods and have noted that they do it differently here. Well serviced camp sites that can handle, say 100 people, have 4 toilets and 2 showers but we have been in a few that have had closer to 900 people that don't have too many more. People seem to accept this level of services. I would say that a campsite that required the payment of a substantial fee and provided such inadequate services would find it difficult to survive in Australia.
Of course, it might be a little better if some campers were a tad more efficient in their use of showers and bathrooms generally. Personal grooming takes a high priority and
a lot of time for some. Perhaps they could do it out in the cold where those waiting have to stand. Or, maybe I am becoming grumpy in my old age. Enough of that.
There is a lot of water running in Iceland, at least at this time of the year. Glaciers sitting up high and leaking down the sides of mountains and hills provide plenty of waterfalls. Most of them aren't delivering a lot of water but many have a substantial fall. Up here, in the North, there are a few that are popular.
Godafoss (foss is a waterfall) is on the main highway - the Ring Road. A lot of people visit. There is a substantial flow of water over it. And not a bad fall. The best part of the foss, though, is possibly the way it apparently received its name. The story is that a local chieftan was under pressure to either convert to Christianity or retain his Norse gods. When he decided to convert he threw all of his Norse gods into the waterfall. (The story doesn't work so well if the word 'goda' does not mean 'gods' in Icelandic.)
Myvatn is
the place you go to if you want something a little different, and you don't mind crowds. The lake is relatively warm, being fed by some warm springs. It is a large lake and is surrounded, a little out of character for much of Iceland, by more trees and bushes than we have seen so far. The temperature was 17 degrees C when we were there. People in t-shirts and shorts all over the place. It is a lovely lake set in a lava field and a popular place to holiday.
Climbing out of Myvatn involves a dramatic change in the country. The elevation of Myvatn is around 270m. I'm not sure how high we climbed out initially but the lack of vegetation and the temperature dropped enough to tell us that we were at least heading for the Highlands. The highest point in Iceland is something over 2,200 metres and parts in the Highlands that we have looked at on the map are over 1,000 metres
The waterfall at Dettifoss is the most impressive we have seen so far. Dettifoss is off the Ring Road up a 35km gravel road. It wasn't bad gravel but some clearly
found it challenging and it felt like a long 35 km. Dettifoss is on the Jokulsa-A-Follum, (jokulsa = glacial river, its name is Follum) has a lot of water, is 100m wide and has 45m fall. It stacks up, in my ever so humble opinion, as a reasonable waterfall and a good spectacle. If you are expecting Iguassu, Victoria or even Niagara you will be disappointed.
When we set off we had thoughts of camping around Myvatn but we did the numbers again and figured we could make it easily to Modrudalur, the place from which we planned to set off for Askja. We have debated this next leg of the trip at length and researched as well as we have been able. There have been a few options under consideration.
First, all of these options involve us getting to see Askja which is a large caldera close to the northern part of Vatnajokull, the largest glacier in Iceland, along with whatever else we can sensibly and safely get to. Access to this area is by F roads. These roads are maintained but are designated as 4WD only. Other vehicles are prohibited from taking them. There are a
couple of roads that go to Askja from our general direction.
The F88 tracks down the western side of the Jokulsa-a-Follum and Askja is on the western side of that river. The F88, however, seems to have the reputation as being difficult and rough with a number of streams to ford and requiring more than a standard 4WD. The F910 tracks down the eastern side of the river and it also has a few fords to cross.
Another option has been to continue on past Askja, basically skirting around the western side of Vatnajokull and getting ourselves eventually into the area around Laki. Unfortunately, the maps we have are not great for that area. Google Maps disregards F roads altogether and there is an understandable reluctance on the part of the authorities to encourage tourists to go into difficult areas without the proper equipment.
We were very well aware that a 4WD Isuzu with standard tyres and wheels, no winch or sand mats and with a big box on the back might be able to get us into trouble but might not be able to get us out. So trying the western side of Vatnajokull seemed to
be foolhardy for us and, in any case it would mean that we would miss the Eastern Fjords. We found a road that would take us out by another route to the east and, subject to confirming that the road is OK, we planned go that way, skipping just the north easterly bits of the coast.
It remained to be seen whether some of the stories we heard were correct or whether they were just fake news. With luck we would find out before we were too committed.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Selfie
Looking good. MJ