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My first full day in Iceland started in the area of Reykjanesbær, this area includes the towns of Keflavik (Where i spent my first night) and Njarðvik, which is where a few of the Viking attractions are! Unfortunately today my time schedule wasn't very forgiving to the fact that every shop in the area (including supermarkets) do not open until 11 during their winter period. So i set off not knowing exactly where the road was taking me, stumbling across a few beautiful things, including some "human" rock structures that overlooked the whole area!
My first detour was a small abandoned US military base, unfortunately there wasn't a whole heap there so quickly took a few snaps and headed on my way! Next stop was a tiny fishing village of Hafnir. This was a very cute little village with some very amazing houses overlooking the water. This was also a very quick pit-stop as they had no shops or even a petrol station.
My first detour was a small abandoned US military base, unfortunately there wasn't a whole heap there so quickly took a few snaps and headed on my way! Next stop was a tiny fishing village of Hafnir. This was a very cute little village with some very amazing houses overlooking the water. This was also a very quick pit-stop as they had no shops or even a petrol station.
From Hafnir i made my down to the Hafnaberg Cliffs. After a hike and a half to get there through mud, ankle deep snow and what felt like a million miles a hour headwind i made it out to the cliffs, and MY GOSH weren't they worth the walk. The birds that nest in them do make ALOT of noise but the cliffs themselves are extraordinary and the power of the ocean banging up against them is to be honest a little bit scary!
After the tough and long walk (5km) back to the car, i headed on my way to my next nights accommodation, in a Small town called Reykholt. I stopped only a couple of times along the way, once to look at the Intercontinental bridge. A bridge that is 6m over a canyon that was formed from the movement of the North American and Eurasian Tectonic plates.
I decided for today i would take the "scenic route" around the coast. As i kept driving the snow on the road got worse and i was driving on Snow/Ice for about 40km till i arrived in Selfoss. This was my first experience of driving on snow and ice and personally i think i did fairly well! I may have no feeling left in my hands from holding onto the steering wheel so tight but i made it safely without any slips or slides :) My second stop along the way was Kerið, which was a cone volcano that emptied it's Magma reserve leaving a huge crater lake, it was pretty amazing to see. During summer the water from the lake is a green colour.
From the small town of Selfoss it only took me about 40minutes to get to my second nights accommodation, upon arrival i was pretty excited as the BnB looked pretty Awesome! The host Henk was VERY welcoming and I had a great nights stay.
He suggested i got over to a Cafe over the road for dinner and try their pizza's, which ended up being a pretty damn good idea. I had a cheese pizza with "Raspberry and Chilli Sauce" which was AMAZING!!
He suggested i got over to a Cafe over the road for dinner and try their pizza's, which ended up being a pretty damn good idea. I had a cheese pizza with "Raspberry and Chilli Sauce" which was AMAZING!!
By the time i had finished my dinner it ws only 6pm (everything closes early in the low season) so still with about 2-3 hours of daylight i headed up road 35 to the Geyser Hot Springs and Gulffoss. Geyser Hot springs were only a 15 minute drive from my accommodation but the temperature still managed to drop from 0 to -6 in that little amount of time. I rugged up and headed along the walk around all the Hot Springs. I found these springs absolutely baffling! there was snow right next to them but the water bubbled away, the temperature of it being between 80-100 degrees celsius. There was a large one that built up so much pressure that once every 5-10 minutes it let off a massive puff of steam sending it 10-15 metres into the sky.
From the Hot Springs i headed up to Gullfoss, my final stop for the evening! Gullfoss is on of Iceland's most popular attractions, it is a magnificent waterfall that is located on the river Hvítá (White). Unfortunately this is one of the places that words and photos will never do justice, it is just breath-taking!!
I stopped on the way back and took a few snaps of some Icelandic horses', they are very cute animals with their longer coats, and they seemed pretty happy playing around in the paddock in -6 degree weather!
This was the end of my days adventures, I had a late night waiting for the northern lights to appear but haven't seen anything yet, fingers crossed that the weather stays this good so conditions are perfect!
This was the end of my days adventures, I had a late night waiting for the northern lights to appear but haven't seen anything yet, fingers crossed that the weather stays this good so conditions are perfect!