THE NORDIC SERIES, DAY 10
ICELAND
There is honestly no rest to be had here in Iceland, if you do it properly that is. Our itinerary is full to the brim of activities, most of which are completely unique to only Iceland!
THE LANDSCAPE OF STOKKSNES IS STUNNING
Today it’s another hike but we are able to kill two birds with the one stone and see Svartifoss Waterfall and the Skaftafellsjokul glacier viewpoint both of which on are on the Sjonarnipa trail!
WHERE IS SKAFTAFELL?
SVARTIFOSS
The Svartifoss is an easy 40minute walk from the visitor centre and although Iceland is covered with waterfalls its entirely unique to the others. Basalt coloumns line the top ridge of the waterfall which creates an impressive backdrop. Here the snow was good to us and made some of the images even more impressive!
SJONARNIPA
The Sjonarnipa hike up to the viewpoint was a lot easier than the initial hike to the waterfall. The rewards at the end however are incredible and helps you comprehend the sheer size and mass of these glaciers. This time of year has proven to be perfect, there are really just not the crowds I was afraid of. We had the entire hike and viewpoint to ourselves, all 3hours of it. My advice, bring a flask of tea and a sandwich so you can sit and take it in, something I just don’t do enough of.
KEEP MOVING
After heading back to the hotel for another bite I thought it would be good to get on our way and head up to Stokksnes Island on the far east coast, near the town of Hofn. With good roads its 1hr 30mins one way so we had no idea how long in these conditions but all I know is that I seen photos and I wanted to go! I warned the others that I wasn’t entirely sure if it was their thing but they were keen to join me or rather sleep in the jeep.
DANGEROUS
Only 10mins into the journey and we seen another victim of the weather, this time a lorry had completely lost its front end, don’t ask me how because there wasn’t another vehicle to be seen and nothing else it could have crashed into it.
Anyway after initially being told by the policewoman we might have to wait an hour for it to be moved she let us through. Thank god as we didn’t have an extra 10minutes let alone an hour. Daft if you ask me as it wasn’t even on the road!
STOKKSNES ISLAND
It was getting dark at this stage but we finally made it to Stokksnes and what a dream it was with the mix of its rugged black beach, grassy dunes and one of the most impressive mountain ranges as the backdrop! If you appreciate stark natural beauty then you’ll be blown away! It was one of the country’s first settlements and has been in the same family for hundreds of years, so expect to pay an entry fee, road maintenance isn’t cheap in the wilderness!
After this we began the 2 hour drive in conditions that were getting worse and worse and the amount of cars ending up in the ditch grew and grew. Thankfully we weren’t one of them…yet!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Iceland seems to be going over and beyond my expectations, not sure how that’s possible!
NEXT UP
Walking through ice caves tomorrow!! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
138/229
This post is part of The Nordic Series, click to explore or for episode 1 click here.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
