Leaving my current company in April 2019, had almost one month annual leave to clear.
After much contemplation, decided for Iceland trip. Roped in CK and CK since both of them were free (CK school term starts in early March, while CJ in August). CY couldn't join us because of work commitments.
9 Feb 2019 (day 1)
Last minute tasks - bought some windproof pants, made international driving licence (couldn't find my old one), bought travel insurance.
Flight departed at 11.45pm.
CY (back for Chinese New Year celebration) sent us off at Changi airport.
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| walking to gate D32... |
10 Feb (day 2)
Transit at Helsinki Airport. Short transit time ~2 hours.
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| Helsinki airport |
The flight from Helsinki to Iceland took 3 hours. We reached Keflavik international airport at 9.45 am.
No need to clear immigration, as we already had our passports cleared at Helsinki airport.
Waited for the transport to drive us to Procar rental company for our rental car.
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| Keflavik Airport arrival hall |
Finally drove out from the rental company by 11 am or so.
The sun was very glaring... Almost as bright as the glare of sun eclipse. The GPS provided was not so user friendly. We had to refer to Google map instead.
Our portable WiFi had no Internet access. Luckily, we had a SIM card (10 GB 30 days use in Europe) as backup.
First stop @Gardur lighthouses. Spotted Bonus, local supermarket, along the way. Stopped for grocery shopping (bread, vegetables, hotdog, potatoes etc) and lunch at adjacent Subway.
Typical Bonus Supermarket:
Gardur Lighthouses
Typical Bonus Supermarket:
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| In cold storage compartment, literarily... |
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| another cold storage compartment for vegetables/greeneries |
Drove passed Sandgerdi and Hafnir (tiny villages, truly nothing to see except humps and bumps on the road as described by travel guide),
then towards Bridge between 2 Continents (Euroasia and North America tectonic plates).
then towards Bridge between 2 Continents (Euroasia and North America tectonic plates).
The bridge that spans the 2 continents looked quite new. The landscape was interesting.
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| walking towards the Bridge |
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| the bridge between two continents |
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| view from the bridge, of the two continents on each side |
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| walking back to the carpark |
Geothermal Park
Valahnukur Cliff
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| sliding on the ice... |
Made a stop at the famed Blue Lagoon. Just had a glimpse at the surrounding of the lagoon. Didn't go for a dip in the pool.
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| outside Blue Lagoon |
Drove to our lodging at Reykjanes Guesthouse @ Grindavik by around 4pm.
11 Feb (day 3)
Woke up at 8am. It was still dark outside. The wind was quite strong, with snow followed by rains around 9am.
Drove in the midst of snow /rains to Reykjanesfolkvangur.
Krysuvikurberg cliff was inaccessible during winter.
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| Leaving our hotel |
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| Add caption |
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| snow rippling across the road (blown off by the strong wind) |
Drove to Seltun (geothermal hotspring) ; strong wind with prickly snow blowing onto our face as we walked to view the hotspring. Our winter jackets was covered with layer of ice as we entered our car at the end of the visit.
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| walking towards Seltun to view the hotspring |
Drove further north... Passing by Kleifarvan Lake. The lake was quite impressive, with rippling waves crashing into the shore; it looked more like sea.
Stopped for hot meals (hamburger and chicken burger, fried fish) at a petrol station @ Hafnarfjordur. Pumped petrol for the first time (using credit card with pins)!
Drove to Hvergerdi, made a detour to local public pool (glimpse from outside).
Still early for check-in to our hotel @ Selfoss. Hence, decided to visit the two small fishing villages nearby (Eyrarbakki and Stokkseyri).
Still early for check-in to our hotel @ Selfoss. Hence, decided to visit the two small fishing villages nearby (Eyrarbakki and Stokkseyri).
Eyrarbakki
Stokkseyri
Checked into Elding Apartments @ Selfoss.
Our apartment was next to a horse stable! Pay a short visit to the stable before moving into our apartment.
No luck for Northern Light tonight... Too much clouds...
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| ELDING APT |
12 Feb (day 4)
Highlight for the day... Doing the touristic Golden Circle (Thingvellir including the Silfra dry snorkeling, geyser, Gulfoss)
Woke up early for early drive to meeting point at car park 5 near Thingvellir information centre, for dry snorkeling @ Silfra at 10 am. Reached there by 9.30 am, but alas the wind was quite strong in the morning ;hence the morning session was cancelled. We opted to return for the afternoon session at 1. 30 pm.
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| bumped into sheeps along the way |
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| walking from carpark 5 to meeting point |
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| the vans from various diving company at the carpark |
Drove to Thingvellir Visitor Centre. Fabulous view from the lookout point. Crowded with tourists.
Walked through the fissure that separated the two tectonic plates {Euroasia and North America plates), view the distant church across the river, climbed up a slope to view a frozen waterfall far above.
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| view from look out point |
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| The frozen waterfall in the background |
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| Waterfall |
Went for a hot lunch at the information center, then reported for the snorkeling.
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| The runaway goat |
It was quite tiring, swimming for about 30 min in the fissure created by the movements of tectonic plates of North America /Euroasia respectively.
The water was super clean. The rocks lining the fissures were clearly visible. No fishes or corals... Just rocks!
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| getting ready for snorkeling |
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| the tectonic fissure |
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| out from the lake |
I only realised that my wife didn't join in the snorkeling, as she kept on gulping in the water during the swim (as I did initially). She was despatched out after a few failed attempts. She met up with another guide as she walked up the steps... And was told that she had clenched the mouth piece in a wrong way. We were never thought how to bite the mouth piece properly before dipping into the water!
Changed back into our winter clothing, took some hot coffee and cookies, and off we went to complete our tour of the Golden Circle.
Drove to the Geyser Thermal Park.. View the Strokkur Geyser shooting out several meters every 3-5 minutes or so. Quote amazing...
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| The Geysir |
Another magnificent sight await us - the Gulfoss. It's amazing with cascading waterfalls in the midst of snow covered cliffs.
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| Guesthouse we stayed overnight |
Feb 13 (day 5)
Had a sumptuous breakfast at the guesthouse, before venturing on our journey.
Visited the historic cathedral at Skalkhalt. Didn't visit the museum and tunnel (paid entrance of 5 euros per person).
Next destination, Kerid volcanic crater. Another beautiful scenery, but had to pay ~4000 krons per person.
Stopped over at Selfoss to buy some groceries. Enquire about crampons (ours were spoilt), but was told these were only available at Icewear store in Vik.
Stopped over at Seljalandsfoss. Gosh, another awesome waterfall. Because of slippery icy floor, the walking trail behind the waterfall was closed.
Drove on... Wanted to visit the ancient hotspring Bath at Seljavallalaug. But the walking trail was rather slippery (in fact I slipped and fell, landing sideway once), and we needed to brave the frozen river to get to the other side to reach the hotspring... . Decided to give it a pass.
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| walking towards the hotspring |
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| How to cross the river??? |
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| frozen upper layer of the river |
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| gave up, turned back to carpark |
We booked a snowmobile tour with Acranium at 3pm. Due to time constraint, had to defer skogafoss till after the snowmobile.
Checked in at the base camp, changed into the attire (windproof suit, helmets, gloves), took a 20 minutes jeep ride to the place high up in the glacier. Rows of snowmobiles were left by earlier group of riders on the glacier camp.
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| CK and CJ in front of u s |
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| CK, the wind bender!?! |
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| see... what CK created |
Truly enjoyed our snowmobile ride. It ran over uneven terrain at times, and felt as if the vehicle was going to topple sideway (but it didn't). Rode on the glacier, enjoyed the scenery from there.
It was almost 5pm by the time we returned to the base camp. The sunset was approaching. Made our way to Skogarfoss, just managed to take some snapshots of the waterfall from near the parking lot. CK and CJ ventured upstream, climbing up flights of rather steep stairs, to view the waterfall from top. Skogarfoss was renowned for its rainbow sighting... Needless to say, we didn't see any rainbow by the time we reached there (Sun was, setting).
Drove to Black Beach Suite, which is located on the high ridge of Reynisfjara in Vik. One of the most expensive hotels I had booked for this trip. Apart from its vicinity to nearby attractions, it was quite a let down.
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| glimpse of northern light, only could be seen via camera... |
Feb 14 (day 6)
Sightseeing around various tourist attractions in Vik.
First had to clear the snow covering the windshield.
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| view from room |
First had to clear the snow covering the windshield.
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| View from our hotel |
Drove from the hotel to Black Sand Beach nearby. The waves were very choppy, rumbling and crashing into the beach.
The stack of basalt column (rocks formed as the flowing lava was cooling down) at one corner of the beach was equally impressive.
We then back track to visit Dyrholaey, viewing huge stone sea arch on the right, and Black Sand Beach to the left from the top of Dyrholaey.
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| VIK |
Left Vik and moving east towards Skaftafell Visitor Center (part of expansive Vatnajokul NATIONAL PARK).
Wanted to visit Fjaorargljufur Canyon... But the road towards the canyon was closed in winter.
Drove further east, passing by Kirkjubaejarklauster village (drove around the small village, and topped up petrol there).
Along the way, drove past a bridge (supposedly the longest in Iceland), stopped for photo shots at Bridge Monument Park (remnants of distorted metal pieces of bridge that was swept away during flash flood caused by volcanic eruption), before entering Skaftafell. Had to postpone the hike to see Svartifoss the next day (it takes ~45 min one way).
Since we still had time to spare, we drove along a bumpy unpaved road towards one of the glacier tongues of Vatnajokull Mountain, Svinajokul (just a few minutes drive from Skaftafell). The close up view of the glacier was memorising.
Checked into our hotel @Laekjaborgir Guesthouse (about 25 min drive from Skaftafell).
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| preparing dinner |
Woke up early to report for Glacier Hike and Ice Cave Exploration at Skaftafell by 9.30 am.
Suited up with safety harness and helmet, and given a pair of crampons (for glacier hiking) and hammer /chisel type of equipment (to push against the slope by the side when climbing up /down steps if needed).
Walked for ~20 min from visitor center before reaching the Skaftafelljokul (glacier). Put on our crampons and marched on one after another in tandem.
The hike was not too difficult except for the initial part where we had to negotiate down a slippery slope.
The ice cave was simply amazing, with crystal clear layers of wall formation surround the cave.
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| checking for the size of crampons |
Walked for ~20 min from visitor center before reaching the Skaftafelljokul (glacier). Put on our crampons and marched on one after another in tandem.
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| walking to the glaciers |
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| Glacier further out, with glimpse of 2 groups of hikers |
The hike was not too difficult except for the initial part where we had to negotiate down a slippery slope.
Never knew that beneath the superficial covering of snow was truly bulky chunk of ice... That's why its called 冰河in Chinese (literally means river form from ice). I thought it was just a thick layer of snow all this while.
Walked through the crevices of glacier, and explored a ice cave.
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| It's actually ice beneath the layer of snow! |
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| exposed glaciers |
The ice cave was simply amazing, with crystal clear layers of wall formation surround the cave.
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| Ice cave |
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| at the entrace of the ice cave |
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| walking through the crevices of glacier |
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| Ice "tunnel" |
The exploration took slightly over 3 hours.
We stopped for a quick lunch {"prata" with eggs and some bread prepared by my wife} before venturing the 45 min hike up the mountain to view Svartifoss.
The waterfall resembles that of Skogafoss, tumbling down basalt columns (personally I felt it was less impressive than Skogafoss).
We finished our hike and returned to visitor center by 4.30 pm.
We finished our hike and returned to visitor center by 4.30 pm.
It was clear sky for the day.... But alas still no luck with aurora!
Feb 16 (day 8)
Left Skaftafell and drove east towards Hofn, stopping over at a few spots for sightseeing as usual.
Scenery along the way
First stop @ Fjalkarsarlon glacier lagoon. Had to climbed up/down a slope before reaching the lagoon. Not too crowded... Very impressive display of icebergs lodged in the lagoon.
Next stop at the touristy Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon, about 20 minutes away. More humongous icebergs, but many more tourists as well.
Stopped briefly for fish and chips /lobster rolls for lunch.
Stopped briefly for fish and chips /lobster rolls for lunch.
After lunch, we drove another 2-3 minutes to the adjacent Diamond Beach (glittering icebergs which was scattered along the beach after flowing down from Jokulsarlon upstream).
After that we drove on to Hofn. Checked into Lilja Guesthouse which is 20 minutes before Hofn.
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| spotted some seals... |
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| walking towards Diamond Beach |
After that we drove on to Hofn. Checked into Lilja Guesthouse which is 20 minutes before Hofn.
We visited Hofn, a small fishing village. Managed to buy 2 pairs of crampons for my wife and I in N1 petrol station. (Our crampons were either snapped or had poor grips because some of the "nails" came off, and it could be quite risky to walk on slippery icy surface in winter).
Took our dinner at one of the local restaurants. The lobster and fish was delicious, and with a fairly reasonably price.
Feb 19 (day 9)
Travelling towards East Fjords.
We passed by Djupivogur, the small fishing village before entering the east fjords.
Visited the harbour lined by eggs Eggin I Gledivik, saw the pyramid like mountain Bolandstindur.
Visited the harbour lined by eggs Eggin I Gledivik, saw the pyramid like mountain Bolandstindur.
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| PYRAMID |
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| THE EGGS... |
The drive along the fjords was scenic. Passed by Berufjordur, Stodvarfjordur and Faskdarfjordur. Don't bother to remember their names; all of them are essentially small fishing villages and resemble one another.
We were unable to visit Vattarnes sea cliffs as the road was blocked by a trailer that broke down.
Turned back and drove to Reydarfjordur (our next hotel stop @ Taergesen B&B). Since we still had enough time, we drove east to adjacent Eskifjörður and Norodfjordur).
On the way to Vattarnes sea cliffs
We wanted to eat dinner at the restaurants in Eskifjörður... But the restaurants are only open in summer. Ended up having our dinner at our hotel restaurant.
Feb 18 (day 10)
Took our breakfast @ Taergesen B&B, then continued on our journey.
Drove from Reydarfjordur towards Egilsstadir, before making a detour to Seydisfjordur.
It was early in the morning, with snow and cloud shrouding the mountainous terrains. As we drove up the slope, the visibility was barely 50 meters at one stage. Had to drive slowing, looking out for the yellow guide posts stationed on both sides of the road as a guide.
The rides from Egilsstadir to Seydisfjordur and Bougarfjordur Eystri were similarly daunting.
The mountains were covered with thick snow. Some of the roads were also laden with snow, making it almost impossible to tell where the sides of the road end.
We realised that we were probably the rare tourists who ventured these two routes in winter.
The two fishing villages were quite small. Some of the sceneries were quite pretty, but probably not good enough to make up for the great efforts needed to drive there, in view of the weather.
Colourful houses @ Seydisfjordur.
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| information centre |
Waterfalls before reaching Seydisfjordur.
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| FROZEN WATERFALL |
Igilsstadir - Drove up a slope to have a birds eye view of the Lagarfljot lake and its surrounding plains.
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| winding slope down from the hill/mountain |
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| aerial view of the land/lake |
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| Lagarfljot Lake |
Bougarfjordur Estry
Still no luck with Northern Lights.
FEB 19 (day 11)
Drove from Igilsstadir to Myvatn. What an eventful day it was!
Along the way to Dettifoss
Firstly, the road to Dettifoss, one of the largest waterfalls in Europe, was closed to vehicles.
Secondly, our car got stuck in the snow by the road sides twice. We managed to get the car out in the first occurrence (when driving out from Krafla Power Station), but wasn't that lucky in the second one (while driving towards Grjotagia Caves). Had to engaged service of tow truck to pull the car out from the snow (cost us ~$300).
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| ACCESS ROAD CLOSED |
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| TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE IS ANOTHER WAY TO DETTIFOSS, WITH ANOTHER FELLOW TOURIST |
Secondly, our car got stuck in the snow by the road sides twice. We managed to get the car out in the first occurrence (when driving out from Krafla Power Station), but wasn't that lucky in the second one (while driving towards Grjotagia Caves). Had to engaged service of tow truck to pull the car out from the snow (cost us ~$300).
Places we visited for the day were....
Namafjall HVERIR (Geothermal spots)
Krafla Power Station (climbed up the hill to a viewing point)
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| climbing up to lookout point |
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| at look out point |
Car got stuck there while leaving power station.
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| finally managed to move the car from the snow covered road side (after scraping out the snow) |
GRJOTAGIA caves (car got stuck there; we weren't so lucky this time, needed to engage tow truck service).
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| Hotspring below the crevices (where the two tectonic plates separate) |
Hverfjall (pseudo volcanic crater)
View from a distance.
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| the lake opposite the crater |
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| the lake opposite the crater |
On the way to Hotel Myvatn...
Checked into Hotel Myvatn.
Happened to have Blood Moon for the night!
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| view from our room |
Then drove out to visit Myvatn Nature Bath (didn't go for a dip),
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| Myvatn Nature Bath |
Feb 20 (day 12)
After breakfast in the hotel, we walked across the road from the hotel to visit Skutustadgigar (with multiple pseudocraters of various sizes scattered around the park). After a snow storm last night, the park was covered with thick layer of snow. The climb up the crater was challenging. Only CK and CJ walked up to the crater for a view on the top.
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| climbing down the slippery slope |
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| walking back to our hotel |
Since we had extra time to spare, we elected to detour to Husey (small harbour well known for whale watching). Nothing fantastic there...
View of Akureyri from opposite side of the fjord.
Reached Akureyri before 3pm. Visited the famed Church in town. Quite a good view of the city from the church.
Drove to local Bonus supermarket for some grocery shopping, then drove by the shopping street before checking into our hotel @ Lamb Inn Ongulsstadir.
Drove to local Bonus supermarket for some grocery shopping, then drove by the shopping street before checking into our hotel @ Lamb Inn Ongulsstadir.
It proved to be a lucky night for us. We managed to see the elusive Northern Lights, which literally danced above our head! We were very elated!
Feb 21 (day 13)
Drove all the way from Akureyri to our next destination @ Hvammstangi (stayed in a small cottage there).
Drove passed a tunnel that could only allowed one vehicle to go through at one time. Had to stop at an outpouching area if there was a on coming vehicle.
Negotiate the scenic drive along Siglufjordur....
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| pointing towards the artic line |
then drove passed Blonduos (took a photo of Blonduoskirja, which supposedly resemble that of whale jutting its head out from the sea).
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| racks for drying out the fish |
Stopped over at Glaumbaer (to view historic tufted houses), then Pingeyrar historic church and Kolugljufur canyon /waterfalls, before arriving at Hvammstangi.
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| SCENIC DRIVE ALONG THE WAY |
Glaumbaer (tufted house)
Pingeyir Historic Church
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| small desolated church, out in the middle of nowhere. had to drive pass gravel road with a lot of potholes... probably can be bypassed if on tight schedule |
Kolugljufur canyon /waterfalls
Had a good sighting of Aurora again..
Strong lights, but there were not dancing like the previous night.
Feb 22 (day 14)
Went to scout for seal viewing spots near Hvammstangi. Managed to see a few seals swimming in the water in one of viewing spots.
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| around Hvammstangi |
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| Looking for seals |
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| Seals swimming in the sea |
Drove further north to view the elephant like rock formation at Hvitserkur.... Hmmm, it doesn't look that impressive when viewed from the lookout point.
Drive further on towards Snaefellsjokull peninsular. Stopped over for lunch at Stykkisholmun (after driving for almost 2 hours across muddy gravel road). Our car was literally painted brown when we reached Stykkisholmun.
The fishing village was quite picturesque. We drove to the adjacent island, walked up to the lighthouse there, to have a bird eye's view of the town.
Made a brief photo stop at Kirkjufellfoss / Mt Kirkjufell (教堂山), before driving on to our apartment @ Hellisandur.
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| waterfall far away |
Exploring Snaefellsjokull Peninsular the entire day.
First stop at Saxholl Volcano Crater.
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| the crater |
Detoured back to visit Svortuloft lighthouse (superb view of the cliff with splashing waves). But had to drive Vi gravel road with potholes.
Stopped over for lava cave tour at 1pm @ Vatnshellir Cave Tour. Interesting narratives from the guide. Interesting cave formation.
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| entrance into the lava cave |
Visited Londramgar (viewing rock formation /lighthouse).
Drove to adjacent Djupalonssandur, again viewing the rock formation.
Wanted to drive for a close up view of Snaefellsjokull, but the side road was closed.
Visited Arnarstapi.... Again saw some interesting rock erosion by the waves.
Turned into a gravel road to view columnar rock formation at Gerduberg (partially covered by snow).
On the way to Borgarness... Saw Eldborg volcano from a distance.
Checked into Icelandair Hotel Hamar, took dinner there (quite expensive dinner).
Feb 24 (Day 16)
Impromptu change in itinerary (since we were spending another night in Borgarness).
Visited the following places:
Hoptsprings at Deildartunguhver.
Waterfalls (Hraunfossar and Barnafoss) (quite a number of avid photographers perching their tripods with huge cameras there).
Another waterfall at Glanni, before driving to adjacent Grabrok crater.
GRABROK CRATER
Drove to visit lighthouses at Akranes, then Settlement center @ Borgarness, before checking into Hotel 59 @ Borgarnes.
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| very strong wind @ lighthouse, and cold+++ |
Feb 25 (day 17)
Highlight for the day was the drive along the Hvalfordor fjords leading to Reykjavik. It was quite a scenic drive. More greenery this time (passing by many farms).
The scenic road meandering along the coast used to be very busy with traffics till the completion of underwater tunnel that run direct from Reykjavik to Akranes (hence bypassing the fjord).
It was raining throughout the day. Made brief stops to have a look at a few waterfalls /River rapids along the way.
The waterfalls were small compared to those we saw in the south Iceland, but the serene country side more than compensate for that.
Reached Reykjavik before noon.
Had a driving tour around the city, viewing the various landmarks.
Harbour view
View of the "esplanade" (Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre) and viking ship sculpture (Sun voyager, looked rather small and not so impressive) from a distance.
Stopped for a visit at the famous landmark.... The Hallgrimskirja church.
Drove to have a look at the city Hall (Radhus Reykjavikur) and the Tjornin lake just in front of the building. Many swans gathered at one far end of the lake.
Stopped over at Reykjavik Restaurant for buffet lunch (a variety of fish and local foods).
Drove pass the Laugavegur shopping street (nothing to shout about) and Perlan (huge complex with restaurants, exhibition hall, museum).
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| walking out from restaurant |
Went to Bonus supermarket for shopping for the last time, before departure the next day.
Checked into Tjarna Hotel @ Keflavik.
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| dinner |
Feb 26 (day 18)
Had early flight at 10.25 am. Took breakfast in the hotel at 6am. Departed from hotel and returned car at Procar rental company by 7.15 am. Reached Keflavik Airport by 7.25 am. Everything went smoothly...
Transit at Helsinki (8 hours transit), then finally embarked on last leg of journey home...
- Glacier hike and ice caves exploration
- Snowmobile on glacier
- Seeing Northern Lights close up, literally dancing above us
- Car got stuck in the snow by the road side
- Lava cave tour.. A different type of cave
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