One of my favourite little journeys on my trips to Iceland is the 130km repositioning I do from my base near Jökulsárlón at Reynivellir to my base at Stafafell. The areas surrounding both places are wonderful, and with so little snow this year, I was able to explore a little more than usual, away from the ring-road.
The day started with a couple of hours on Jökulsárlón beach. Check-out from Reynivellir is at a sociable 11am, so this gives me a chance to fit in a decent sunrise visit to the beach, with enough time to come back, pack up and drink tea. I got to the beach at 7.30am again (I do struggle to get up early, and these trips are exhausting, so I felt pretty pleased that I managed it two days in a row), and there were already plenty of photographers there. It was fairly light, with less cloud than the previous day. I immediately found some nice clusters of icebergs, with the water trails providing some nice patterns.
There were some stunning icebergs on the beach, so it was a shame that my time was limited (although I could have checked out and just come back here for a few more hours). The sun was rising behind the clouds and beginning to show signs of peeking through. I always have a slightly panicky time at this point, worrying about where I'm going to be and which iceberg will be the best. It must be what drives some recurring dreams I have, where I miss sunrise or sunset, for a whole host of reasons. I found the most unexciting of the icebergs at that particular point, which was annoying! I don't have those dreams for nothing.
Oh well, it wasn't too bad, and things did get a bit better and I spent the next hour and a half in Jökulsárlón heaven.
The sun eventually came out and the light was superb - if only I'd had more time!!
I had to tear myself away, which is always hard, but I knew that I'd be driving back through there in 4 days' time, so had another chance to spend some time on this special beach. I packed my bags, drove up to Gerði to check-out (being chased by the mad dog there, as usual), and headed off east, first stop the tree line. It was a lovely day - chilly but sunny, although to the north there was lots of dull white cloud.
Next stop was a new favourite one for me, as I noticed some incredible basalt columns sitting at the top of some hills - usually covered by snow and unnoticeable. I'd only seen them for the first time on my previous trip, so was glad to see them again, uncovered by snow.
Next stop was a very brief one at the favourite tree where there was some nice ice patterns.
Again, able to take advantage of the lack of snow on the ground, I decided to try a new glacial lagoon that I hadn't visited before - Hoffellsjökull. It was quite a way from the ring-road, along a gravel road that got fairly bumpy in parts (definitely only doable in an SUV!). It wasn't the most beautiful of glaciers or lagoons, but was nice to visit a new spot. There were a couple of other cars there and I heard the unmistakeable whine of a drone in the distance - amazing how I can be in the middle of nowhere and still hear that! I went for a little hike to the right, back to the car and then headed down to the water's edge.
I left there by 1.30pm, keen to get moving, as I also wanted to have a quick hike later on in the Hvannagil Canyon, snow-conditions permitting. I also had to stop in Höfn to pick up more food for the next few days. Before I reached Höfn I noticed a little rocky outcrop sticking up from the landscape off to the north, which again I hadn't seen before, as it's usually covered in snow. There was a turn-off that led to a cabin nearby, so I drove up there to get a little closer. The sun was annoyingly stuck behind those kinds of clouds that you think might move away but in the end just seem to swirl and morph around without ever actually moving on. I sat in the car listening to music, waiting for the sun to illuminate the damn columns, but after about 15 minutes I gave up and continued on. Next time...
I headed down into Höfn, and picked up some food for the next week, including a replacement block of cheese (still fuming about the theft!). I found some salmon fillets and fresh Icelandic lettuce, as well as stocking up on the necessities like milk and Skyr. I continued on, not stopping until I got through the tunnel (Stokksnes would have to wait until one of the next few days). I just love driving through that tunnel, knowing that I'll come out to one of my favourite stretches of road. The mountains off to the north are quite spectacular there - all dramatic pyramids. I took a turn-off which leads to a private road (some utility company), and took a few photos once I'd passed under the electricity pylons. Mounds of snow were piled up at the sides of the road; it was a bit snowier here, but the roads were generally pretty snow-free.
There's a few side roads that I've never taken, so I decided to explore a little, and I'm glad I did. This region really is one of my favourites - partly because the tunnel seems to mark the limits past which the crowds don't cross, and partly because it's just damned beautiful. I headed down towards the little lagoon, which I found out since is called Papafjörður, the striking Brunnholl in front of me. I've often photographed this lagoon from the far side, with two tiny little huts in the far distance, but this was my first time to actually go to them.
The road was in pretty good condition, and I passed a massive house and collection of farm buildings which I hadn't noticed before, and continued on to the huts. The road wound around the shores of the little lake, with snow settled in the tyre tracks.
It's a strange little area, which doesn't see a great deal of sunshine in the winter, as it's stuck in the shadow of the backside of Vestrahorn, at the base of a sharp v-shaped valley, Kastárdalur. The huts were dark and the sky behind white and bright. The huts probably get about 3 hours of sunshine each day at this time of year, and I'd just missed the sun as it headed behind the next peak.
There was still some sun left on the beach nearby, so I headed down to the shore, which was lined with rippled, stacked ice formations. It was stunning, but I was about half an hour for the best light, and almost immediately the beach was in shade.
I took a couple of self-portraits using the tripod, before becoming transfixed on some triangular patterns in the distance.
I took a few iPhone selfies too - I do occasionally, and it was blissful here! So here's me:
After an hour I headed off, with the sun mostly gone from the fjord and the canyon beckoning. I took a series of shots for a panorama before I left, converted to B&W.
The drive from there towards Stafafell was lovely, but I didn't stop again as I was keen to make the most of the day's remaining light. I'd discovered Hvannagil on my previous visit in September, when I'd done the most incredible day hike from the Stafafell hostel, across beautiful meadows before reaching the striking canyon. It had been a long hike, including a 7km walk back from the entrance of the canyon to the hostel, along a winding and hilly road. This time I was driving to the entrance, hoping that it would be snow-free enough for the car. Luckily the road was used by local residents (there's quite a lot of houses that line the Grænahilð road), and the car made it through the couple of sections where snow was piled up at the edges of the road. It's a stunning road, and considerably quicker by car! I parked at the end of the road, knowing from the previous time where the entrance to the canyon was (not exactly sign-posted or obvious when you're there). The weather was pretty mild, with little wind, and I set off into the canyon under blue skies with some scattered clouds. It was already 4pm by the time I got there, so didn't have a great deal of time to enjoy it or explore (I gave myself 45 minutes in, 45 minutes back). The ground was fairly snowy, so I was hiking in my Grubs boots, which also made the river crossings a little easier. The snow wasn't deep, and was dotted with the multi-coloured rocks that line the canyon's floor.
Photography was challenging, as most of the canyon floor and sides were in shade. It didn't stop me having a lovely hike right into the canyon to the area where the trail comes down from the canyon rim above. I hiked up the hill a bit, but the snow was extremely deep in places and not easy to wade through. The colours and shapes of the canyon were still visible in part, but not as distinct as they had been when I'd visited in the autumn.
The river was flowing differently from on my last visit, with no strange drying-up-for-no-reason bits, and I was glad I had my boots on. The snow made the return hike easier too, as I was able to see my footprints, knowing where I'd crossed easily on the way in. The light was becoming more golden as I hiked out. I wished I'd had a little longer, but I'd wanted to see it today as snow was forecast for the next few days and this was the only chance I thought I might have with the road accessible. I wanted to get to Hvalnes for sunset, so hurried back to the car and took the lovely drive out to the ring-road.
It's always lovely to return to Stafafell - it holds a special place in my heart that a handful of places around the world do (
this is another one...). Driving up to the farmhouse makes me feel as if I'm arriving home again. I rang the doorbell and had the usual brief catch-up with Sigurdur; I wanted to head out for sunset and the sun was dropping quickly.
I dropped the backpack in the cottage (the yellow one, of course) and then immediately headed out on the short journey to Hvalnes. The fjord looked so serene, and I pulled over at the usual parking area to admire the view. Often at this time of year the water is frozen, but not on this occasion.
The light on the peaks behind me was sublime, but disappearing quickly.
I rushed back to the car and on to the point at Hvalnes, where the little bumpy road leads up to the lighthouse. I had slightly misjudged my timing, and the last of the sun was just leaving the peaks of Eystrahorn as I got out of the car.
All was not lost, as I expected some nice dusky light on the clouds. I walked across to the bay and took a few longer exposures. Sure enough, the scattered clouds began to stretch across the sky and turned a little pink.
I went back to the car and over to the other side of the road, where I love the angle of the mountain peaks. There was a tiny bit of light and colour left in the sky.
And then I headed home. Before going back to the cottage I took one last little detour down the road opposite the one up to the cottage; the light in the distance behind the peaks of Brunnholl and Vestrahorn was still moody. I stopped to say hello to the horses; the light was so low that any photos were taken using an ISO of 800 and the widest aperture.
I drove on, taking the right fork in the road, and driving on right until the end. The road comes to an abrupt stop - fortunately I was on the ball as it literally stops, with a drop over a metre down to a river bed below! I had to do about 6 turns to get the car turned round to face the right direction to drive back. The colour was clinging on and the twilight began to set in and it looked beautiful with the river below me.
It was already past 7pm by the time I got back to the cottage and called it a day for the photography. The days that I travel can be totally exhausting - especially if I'm not driving that much, as I make sure I try to cram in as much as possible along the way (I was keen to still get my 10k steps in too). This had been a wonderful day, and topped off by being back at the yellow cottage. I made myself some pasta and salad (with ripe avocado in it - it's amazing what you can buy these days!), saving my salmon for the following day. The skies outside were clear, and I checked from the spare bedroom out the back a couple of times to see if there were any northern lights visible - fortunately there weren't, as all I wanted to do was sleep! The plan for the following day was Stokksnes for sunrise, with clear skies forecast, so I went to bed relatively early after another fantastic day in Iceland.
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Day 4: A Good Day at Jökulsárlón
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Day 6: Superb Stokksnes, Lovely Lón, Stunning Stafafell
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