Iceland is monochrome and moody – the black sand of the volcanic beaches and the black lava desert, white as the freshly fallen snow and ice that surrounds everything. But it is also a really colourful place too – in history and nature. There are the most amazing shades of blue – in the ice, the water.  Purple lupins and green moss and little tufts of greenery than would only increase once spring is here. Many shades of red and brown in the rhyolite hills and then there is the colourful corrugated iron Icelandic homes and the red, white and blue of the Icelandic flag.  Not your conventional beauty but one of the most spectacular countries I have ever seen……

Day 4. I had looked into doing some kind of activity involving glaciers however found that most restricted ‘extreme activities’ to children over 10 years.  We found one company, though, that did the tamer ‘Glacier walks’ where the age was restricted to 8 years and up.  So Immi quickly turned a year older(!) and we met our guides at their equipment locker at the base of the glacier only around 15 mins drive from our accommodation.

We were kitted up with harnesses, crampons for our shoes and hiking poles and joined around another six people for the two hour walk. The river of ice we climbed is just the toe of a much larger glacier which completely covers the top of the peaks like a giant beanie. The two guides kept the tour interesting by retelling local legends relating to the glaciers and facts and figures of the area. A fun and informative few hours.

That afternoon we explored the area around Vik.

We spent a few hours enjoying the afternoon sunshine at the wonderful black volcanic Reynisfjara beach at Garoar with its huge basalt columns – what an incredible beach.

It had the most gorgeous black shiny pebbles that you couldn’t help sit amongst and play with.  We had an impromptu picnic lunch under the impressive rock formations, thanks to the food provisions stored in the car and then while the girls enjoyed a couple of hours just playing on the beach and amongst the rocks, I lay back with kindle in hand and enjoyed the sound of the mighty Atlantic Ocean crashing onto the shore and watching the large colonies of seabirds circling around the cliffs. Dave also welcomed a chance for an afternoon snooze. This would have to have been one of my favourite stops in Iceland.

We headed back into Vik for another visit to the diner for an early dinner.

and then as the sun was dipping lower we drove up to the Dyrholaey promontory at the western end of the beach up to the lighthouse for a look at the steep cliffs in the fading light.

What another great day enjoying nature at its best!

We went to bed that night setting the alarm to go ‘northern light hunting’ later on…

Day 5. Around midnight we bundled the girls wrapped in their doonas into the car and set off, first back to the lighthouse area the highpoint where we had visited earlier that evening.  We waited and watched without success for around an hour and a half before driving slowly down towards home. Then I noticed a green glow in the sky and asked Dave to pull over where we looked toward the horizon and we could see a definite glow and occasional stripe, waking the girls to show them. Although not the dazzling show I was hoping for, it was still the northern lights nonetheless.  Unfortunately it was not anywhere near bright enough to be caught on camera and after another half hour or so we continued back home to bed, where I had the most vivid dream of the most wonderful northern light display!

The next day after breakfast we set off back down the coast toward our next farm-stay first stopping at Skogafoss waterfall and for a refreshing walk behind it – Brrr.

This whole area is known as Katla Geopark and contain geological features of global significance. Where the tectonic plates move apart they cause a rift zone.  A mantle plume exists below the country centred beneath the Vatnajokull ice cap – the interaction of these result in the complex and diverse (and active!) volcanic activity. Since the 9^th century there have been around 150 recorded volcanic eruptions. The volcanic activity has constantly changed the landscape and influenced where the people settled. Sheep and dairy farming are the main employers with tourism becoming increasingly important to the economy of the area.

Ice caps top the highest volcanoes with outlet glaciers and glacial rivers that flow from them form landforms like moraines and ice-damned lakes.  Large floods, known as glacial outbursts associated with sub-glacial eruptions form outwash plains in the lowlands and it is along these plains we take a road south to the coast again to Landeyjahofn, the point for catching the ferry to the Westland Islands. The ‘volcanic outwash’ or shiny black volcanic sand is mesmerising, almost lunar in appearance and the girls spend some time running up and down the untouched dunes.

Driving to our accommodation we can’t help but stop several times just to look or pat the cute Icelandic horses that are just everywhere in the paddocks – they are so friendly and come straight away to the fence – Immi is in heaven!

We arrived at Vatnsholt, our farm-stay that afternoon and immediately felt this was more like it – there were horses in the paddocks, 2 farm dogs and a couple of goats, and a playground. We are staying in one of the few separate houses dotted around the farm and have a large room with kitchenette.  With breakfast included in the rate we just have to look after ourselves for lunch and dinner and having stopped at a supermarket on the way here make another easy pasta for dinner.

The girls enjoy the playground in front of our little house for an hour or so which was just as well as we were greeted by a very different scene the next morning!

Day 6. We awoke to visions of a white winter wonderland – how different everything looks – from brown tundra to white almost blizzard conditions today.

After breakfast Phoebe chips away the ice from the windscreen and we hope the snow tyres are ready for the job having never driven on ice slicked roads like this before.

We pass a few snow ploughs out clearing the highway as we head to the nearby geothermal power plant for some behind the scenes look at the way Iceland harnesses all that thermal energy.  (Geothermal heating meets the heating and hot water requirements for approx 87% of all the buildings in Iceland!)  We look down into the ‘engine room’ of the power plant and see only shiny clean services proving it really is a ‘clean fuel’ in more ways than one. They also have some fantastic visual displays, videos on thermal energy and interactive screens about flora and fauna.

Iceland really does information well – at nearly every carpark there are great information boards in at least three languages (Icelandic, English and German).

Day 7. After another morning helping to feed the farm animals, we have breakfast and finish packing up once more before setting out for the airport taking the route along south-western coast roads through little fishing villages ahead of our 2pm hire car drop and 5pm flight to Toronto.

Our lasting impressions of Iceland; it truly is an amazing geological destination with an interesting history to boot and if it wasn’t so far away from home I would visit again in a heartbeat. In one word: Dramatic.

This would have to be the one destination that I wished I had my SLR camera – the scenery and photo opportunities were to die for.  I think our little Panasonic Lumix did ok though.  My favourite picture I took:

What do you think?  Does it make you want to come to Iceland??