Our Last Day In Iceland

We were visiting the last places on our lists and packing our bags, ready to be out of here the next day. We were all a bit sad, though mostly so happy and excited about the lights, about Sigur Ros, The Blue Lagoon, about our day trip to Hofn and that langoustine, so happy that we had experienced Iceland and all it had to offer. That being said we are coming back here to do the things we couldn't do on this trip, partly because of weather, partly because of time...

The Northern Lights

Shooting stars and bright, bright lights!

Walking Around Reykjavik, Boats, Swimming And Markets

It looks like a Tim Burton location. It was just some run down house in the city side streets.

After spending 2 days in a car travelling to and from Hofn we decided to spend the next two days in Reykjavik's city centre. The sun decided to finally come out so we spent the days walking around the town, eating delicious food and swimming in a couple of Iceland's many heated pools.

The Place Where Bill Clinton Ate The Best Hot Dog In The World...Plus More!

On this day we managed to consume what were considered the 'world's best hotdog' and the 'world's best lobster soup'. The second was a little more obscure, but definitely more delicious. 

The Blue Lagoon

Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa. A magical place in Iceland.

Road Trip To Hofn - Part III

In the last part of our trip we visited two sites which we were so close to just driving past and forgetting about and we were so glad we didn't! The Svartifoss trail was one of them, pictured above.

Road Trip To Hofn - Part II

After our day long drive across Iceland the day before it was now time to make our journey back from whence we came, hopefully squeezing in the things we missed the day before due to crumby weather. We had been unsuccessful in our mission to see the northern lights far from the light pollution from Reykjavik and we were hoping for some luck in seeing a few more things on our way back including the famous Jokulsarlon floating icebergs pictured above.

Road Trip To Hofn - Part I

We set off from Reykjavik and were headed for Hofn with our worldly possessions and a couple of pizzas in our ridiculously large 4WD. We were attempting the "southern shore" tour of Iceland, travelling from the west of the country to the east going along the south coast. Adventure was in the air!

Reykjavik And Sigur Ros At Iceland Airwaves 2012

On this day we thought it best to wander through Reykjavik and see a bit of the town/very little city, which pleased me to no end. We had so much to see and do and it was a perfectly relaxing day in the lead up to the Sigur Ros concert we had very much been looking forward to that night. In fact it was the very reason we had decided to book our flights over 5 months ago and we are so glad we did.

Iceland Golden Circle Road Trip Part V - Thingvellir National Park And Soup In A Bread Bowl

Thingvellir (or Pingvellir) National Park was the last stop on our Golden Circle adventure. It was also the windiest by far (which is saying a lot!). It is the home of the old Iceland parliament house which was founded in the year 930 and is the oldest parliamentary system that still remains in the world.

Iceland Golden Circle Road Trip Part IV - Oxararfoss Waterfall

This, the Oxararfoss Waterfall (pictured above) was, according to Lloyd, the best part of the Golden Circle trip. This being said we almost drove past it, there was a moment where we coudn't decide whether we were going to turn back or keep going and I'm glad we turned back.

 The Gullfoss waterfall was spectacular in it's size and appearance and because of that it was ladden with other tourists vying for a good picture that would capture its grandiose nature (impossible!). It just lacked something captivating, something that the Oxararfoss waterafall had plenty of. It was intimate and humble in appearance and more importantly without the swarms of tourists battling for a view of this little gem. In this way Oxararfoss was a more memorable and enjoyable experience for the three of us. It felt more personal and worthy of our attention...Which we gave. We spent quite some time marveling at both her beauty and her stunning surrounds.

Iceland Golden Circle Road Trip Part III - Gullfoss Waterfall and Snow Fighting

Gullfoss waterfall! A truly amazing sight to behold. On this day Iceland remained true to its fire and ice label, throwing us an incredible view with a side of painful wind and cold. At one point Sophie was blown over.

Iceland Golden Circle Road Trip Part II - Geysir

Our next stop was the spouting hot spring Geysir. This was the first famous spouting hot spring in the world and is from where the word "geyser" originates. In history books it was said to shoot out boiling water up to 170 metres high! Unfortunately nowadays it is considered virtually inactive and only shoots out water once or twice a day and no where near those heights. The main active geyser in these parts is called Strokkur and erupts on average every 6 minutes. From our experience on this day it only really erupted once every 15-ish minutes. Check out the photos and videos including one of us all getting wet from the eruption!

Iceland Golden Circle Road Trip Part I - Kerid Crater

Well we arrived in Iceland. After sweating in Paris only 4 hours earlier, we walked out of Reykjavik airport with not many clothes on and within 10 seconds of walking out the airport doors we were hit with a mild 30-40km wind. Strong...yes...but the kicker was the wind chill of around minus 15 degrees. Lloyd thought his fingers were going to fall off from frostbite. Lloyd's glasses were actually blown off. I had to chase down my areoplane pillow which went flying down the street. It was a rude awakening to this stunning but harsh country. After a quick nights rest we awoke early to venture on a road trip with our former Perth housemate, Adam (who had flown from Canada to spend the next week with us) We rented a car and set out on the famous Golden Circle trip. In the simplest sense there are three main sites which make up the Golden Circle; Geysir hot springs, Gullfoss waterfall and Thingvellir National Park. Our first stop today driving the anti-clockwise route from Reykjavik was the Kerid Crater (pictured above...and frozen over)