Exploring Iceland: 1 Van, 1100 Miles.


Arriving in Iceland

After landing and picking up the van we headed for the oldest lighthouse on the island. A short detour to Hafnir and The Bridge Between Continents we finally found Reykjanesviti, the oldest lighthouse first built in 1878. The landscape was so barren with clouds of steam from the geothermal activity in the area, it was as if we’d landed on another planet!


Day 2

 A small van, affectionately named Clifford, was our home for the 7 day trip. Loading film and fettling with cameras became a morning ritual throughout the adventure, after coffee of course.

Clifford the Van

The Golden Circle

Its impossible to drive very far in Iceland without having to stop to take photos. We were running and climbing around the winding river for a while on our journey out of Reykjavik to start our tour of The Golden Circle.

The Golden Circle
The Golden Circle
Geysir

A very cloudy stop in Geysir, a must when driving The Golden Circle. We were dodging pretty heavy rain showers at this point but after a while you begin to stop caring. The landscapes are too surreal and beautiful to miss.

Geysir
Geysir
Gulfoss

Gulfoss is Europe’s most powerful waterfall, the spray from this beast only emphasised that. It was like being blasted in the face by a shower head. At this particular moment the sun decided to break through illuminating the mist floating up from the base of the falls. Shortly after this we devoured our bodyweight in Icelandic lamb soup at the visitor centre.

Gulfoss, Iceland
Gulfoss

Day 3

The landscape around Hveragerði was probably one of my favourites of the whole trip. The bright green hillsides were similar to that of Wales, combined with the jets of steam firing from them it really made for some stunning scenery.

Hveragerði
Hveragerði
Kerið

The volcanic crater lake of Kerið was another gorgeous stop off on our trip. The bright blue lake contrasting against the red and green sides of the crater looked other-worldly.

Kerið
Kerið
Seljalandfoss

The drive south to Vik wouldn’t be complete without pulling over at Seljalandfoss. A beautiful spot and a reminder of how powerful nature can be. Walking behind the base of the 200ft waterfall your ears are filled with the sound of jet engines.

Seljalandfoss
Seljalandfoss
Sólheimasandur

From initially planning the trip we knew we wanted to find the DC plane on the black beach at Sólheimasandur. After a pretty long trek across the sand we found ourselves in a surreal, post apocalyptic film set. Blasted by cold wind and with a huge storm approaching we had to leave shortly after finding the plane but this was definitely one of the most memorable spots of the trip.

Sólheimasandur
Sólheimasandur

Day 4

 After taking shelter all night in Vik from a giant storm we began the drive back west. First stop was the Reynisdrangar needles just outside of Vik. Legend has it that the basalt stacks are the remains of 2 trolls caught by the dawn whilst dragging a sailboat to shore.

Reynisdrangar Needles
Reynisdrangar Needles
Reynisdrangar

Back garden goals. This abandoned farm hut can be found on the drive back to Highway 1 from Reynisdrangar.

Reynisdrangar
Reynisdrangar
Skógafoss

The sun was shining for our visit to Skógafoss, a busy tourist spot but worth waiting around to get the empty shots like this.

Skógafoss
Skógafoss
Drive back to Reykjavik



After the long drive back to Reykjavik we were blessed with a clear night and a strong aurora forecast. Back in the van we drove out of the city for a while and the sky shimmered above us, a breathtaking and memorable experience.

Aurora
Aurora

Ytri Tunga

Day 5 consisted of hours of driving, getting ourselves to the perfect destination on the Snæfellsnes peninsula for another clear night. We stopped at Ytri Tunga, a beautiful cove and well known seal colony, tripods and zoom lenses were a must.

Ytri Tunga
Ytri Tunga
Buðir


We arrived at the black church at Buðir in time for sunset. The light was incredible and the stark black church was like nothing I’d ever seen.This was just the start of a really memorable night.

Buðir
Buðir
Arnarstapi

After setting up camp in Arnarstapi we were blessed once again with another incredible light show above our heads. A much clearer sky made for an even more impressive show than the previous night, it really was mesmerising.

Arnarstapi
Arnarstapi

Day 6

Our last full day with Clifford meant we were up early and exploring the Snæfellsnes coast lines in bright sunshine.

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The Lóndrangar are a pair of 60m rock pinnacles in Iceland, in the bright blue it was a view weren’t expecting to find in the early winter months.

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Kirkjufell was top of the list of places to visit throughout the trip. The landscape was mind blowing.

Kirkjufell, Iceland
Kirkjufell

…Another notoriously busy and photographed spot but its easy to sit around admiring the view waiting for the clear shot.

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Writer & Photographer: Tom Allport www.flickr.com/photos/tomallport

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