Drive to Skaftafell National Park area

The programme said that from Hella we were to drive to the beautiful Skaftafell region, stopping at the Seljalandsfoss waterfall (where it was possible to walk behind the waterfall), the Skogafoss waterfall, the Skogar Folk Museum before arriving at the picturesque village of Vik.  Here we were to stroll on a beautiful beach  and look for sea birds nesting on the cliffs.

However !   Mother Nature took a hand - some melt water that had been accumulating behind a natural dam under a glacier burst free and the rocks and ice being carrier by millions of gallons of water swept away a bridge at Múlakvísl we were to cross. (NB 10 days later there was a replacement bridge in place - v impressive)

Our 4x4 transport and little 'ordinary' bus

This is where being on an organised tour pays dividends.  Overnight a second bus & driver was produced - a high clearance 4x4 one - that could tackle the gravel tracks and fords we encounter as we headed North & East into the Highlands close to Landmannalaugar area, around the top of the Mýrdalsjökull volcano and down to the coast again.  The Highlands are mainly above 400–500 metres and are mostly an uninhabitable volcanic desert, because the water from rain or snow soaks so quickly into the ground that it is unavailable for plant growth  This results largely in a surface of grey, black or brown earth, lava and volcanic ashes - a few oasis-like areas are found but only close to rivers.

Track to nowhere

It was a barren journey with the mix of sealed and gravel roads being one of the few signs of mankind.  There were electricity pylons, a hydro-electric station and one isolated cafe but nothing else.  It did seem a great place for adventures with 4x4 tracks heading for the hills, the occasional tent in a fold of a valley by a cold stream and lots of opportunities for hill walking.

Later we cross the “Black Desert”, a part of the world’s greatest lava field created in modern times (1783-4)

Fjadrargljufur

We headed inland and parked in the middle of nowhere and walked through the fields and found a great chasm hidden in the folds of green.  This was Fjadrargljufur canyon, carved out by water when a natural dam (terminal moraine from a glacier) burst and the massive water flow gouged out this cleft.

After crossing Skeidararsandur, the great sandy plain (which was flooded in 1996 by glacier melt water from a volcanic eruption under the Vatnajökull Glacier.  This is the biggest glacier in Europe and it covers about 8% of the country and the average thickness is 400m. Under the ice-cap are still active volcanoes and in Grimsvotn volcano, Iceland's most active since the Middle Ages erupted in 1996, 1998 and 2004 - in total 7 volcanoes are situated underneath the Vatnajokull ice-cap.

Elf Houses !

Our overnight accommodation (Frost and Fire Guesthouse) was in Hof just off the main road in a cluster of buildings that included a number of little cabins - whilst some slept in the main building others of us we out in the fields in very luxurious self-contained accommodation.  It even had a number of little houses for the local elves !

However, the most memorable part of the site was a turf church - which is the subject of the next post.