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Published: September 30th 2016
Ice Lagoon
JokulsarlonThis was a day I had been looking forward to, some key sites that I couldn't wait to get exploring...starting with the famous ice lagoon of Jokulsarlon, Skaftafell national park and finally finishing in Vik with its black sandy beaches and basalt columns...
On advice from some locals we pre-booked a zodiac tour of Jokulsarlon a couple of days previous and after only an hour or so from leaving Hofn we spotted the icebergs and tourist buses just off the Ring Road...cool! You read about this place, see pics but they really don't do the spot justice; it is absolutely gorgeous...we were a bit early for the tour so were able to take a stroll along the edge of the lagoon and get our first glimpses at the utterly beautiful luminous-blue icebergs slowly making their way out to sea, stunning...
Time had arrived for the tour so we donned the now familiar red and black suits we had first seen in Husavik, although this time a small life jacket was added for extra safety, and it was onto a bus and off to the zodiac launch point...this was a one hour tour, and would take us across the lagoon
to get a closer glimpse of the glacier, and then meander back through a variety of icebergs of all shapes and sizes...
We were about twenty so divided up between two boats and were off...it was awesome being at essentially water level to see these icebergs, and while a safe distance was kept (due to potential roll-over of the 'bergs) they still felt really close...each one was different, some had black stripes through them that would indicate the ash from an eruption long ago, some had dense blues and others more translucent...could have spent the entire day out there it was so fascinating...and then seeing the ice fields at a much closer vantage point than the road was a treat as well...
Sadly the excursion came to an end; after a cafe mocha and one last look at the lagoon we were on our way...the gal at the campsite in Hofn recommended we also check out the next lagoon (of which the name escapes me), and although not as grand perhaps as Jokulsarlon was still quite nice in its own right...
After some quick road sandwiches it was off to our next stop: Skaftafell...lots of hiking here
Svartivoss
...in Skaftafell park... and also a launch point for glacier tours, but as we opted to do the zodiac thing we decided to skip the expensive tours and instead hike up to the famous waterfall of Svartivoss...
Got our bearings at the info centre and we were off; it would take about 45 minutes to reach the falls so a relatively easy hike...all uphill to get there though, but didn't take long before we reached some heights with spectacular views of the countryside...passed a couple of other smaller falls before finally getting a peak at Svartifoss in the distance..
While we had already seen a number of waterfalls this one was pretty unique: geometric black basalt columns stand on either side of the waterfall, really cool...and again as with all the sites in this country we were able to hike right up to the bottom of it and get some great views from a number of locations...totally worthwhile, wish we had some more time in this area as there were miles of hiking trails that I would have loved to explore, but it was now mid-afternoon and still a healthy drive left to get to Vik...
Plodded along enjoying the
Bundled up...
...on the ice lagoon of Jokulsarlon... scenery and eventually arrived in Vik late afternoon...checked out the campsite first, there were rumours it was closed but it wasn't, also reviews that the facilities were pretty crappy which appeared true after a quick recon, so decided to see if we could snag a room or cabin for the night if it didn't break the bank...checked out some cabins recommended by Lonely Planet but they were full, lots of signs by the side of the road indicating accommodations but the next one we stopped at did not look all that great either...K had spotted some cabins tucked behind the Ring Road so we decided we would check those out and if no dice then camping it was...
Five newly-built looking cabins, each with its own veranda, large floor to ceiling windows, sitting room and kitchen, and there was one available! And not too expensive, score! Woman was really nice, showed us the place and didn't take too much convincing to take it...it's called Gotur, almost hate mentioning it because I want to keep it to myself...haha...just a few kms west of Vik, awesome spot...
With a quick trip back into town to get some supplies and cash
First glimpse..
...of Vatnajokull glacier... for the rental we then headed down to the waterfront to check out the beach...really cool; while we had seen some black beaches on our travels those were mostly made up of stones, this one was a fine jet black sand...thought we would be able to access the famous basalt columns at Reynisfjara from this beach as well but discovered they were tucked around a bend...so back in the camper and off we went...
Realized as we arrived at Reynisfjara that we were just there looking at cabins...d'oh! Oh well, still plenty of daylight so made our way down to the beach to check things out...
Columns were beautiful, there was a really cool cave as well and great views of the sea stacks Reynisdrangar (traditionally believed to be trolls that were caught out in the sun)...some nice views of Dyrholaey as well in the distance, a plateau with iconic archway, it's a nature reserve with a large bird population...would have loved to explore that as well but the sun was beginning to set and it had been a long day...
Back to the wonderful cabin for some heat, comfort and homemade pasta meal before retiring in
one of the most comfortable beds I had ever slept on...
(Some photos copyright of Karen C., denoted by (KC)...used with kind permission)
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Stunning Iceland
Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.