Iceland Trip, Part 1

Hi all,

I've recently returned from an awesome 3 week trip around the wonderful country that is Iceland. We have been there before back in 2009 but went during the wetter months of March and April. This time we decided to go in June and July, hire a 4x4 and tour the whole island, camping when we could and hitting hostels on any nights where the weather was too inclement for us to get the tent up comfortably. Yes, Iceland is really really expensive, but the camping was generally about £20 a night so helped reduce the costs dramatically. Anyway, I'll continue with the places we visited (not necessarily in the order of visitation)

One of the first places we stopped at was Seltún, a geothermally active area, just south of Reykjavik in the Reykjanes nature reserve. There are many boiling pools of water, hot mud pools and the geology is amazing; the colours of the rocks are just wonderful. Of course, you will never forget the smell of the place. It's very sulphuric and stinks of rotten eggs.

You can pretty much stop anywhere in the car in Iceland and get a photograph worthy of any wall. This photo was taken from the side of the road as we drove to our next stop. The problem is, you have to resist stopping at every opportunity or else you wouldn't get anywhere

The purple lupins in this photo are everywhere at this time of year; there are fields and fields of them.

Our next stop was at a pair of waterfalls - Haifoss and Granni. Haifoss is the second highest waterfall in iceland and is only easily accessible from the top (although we did see someone fishing at the bottom of it but werent sure how he got there). This picture is of Granni, the smaller of the two falls at this location.

To end part one, i'll introduce a hidden gem in Iceland - the oasis that is Gjáin. Found in the middle of a barren volcanic landscape, a valley opens up that is full of lush greenery and a waterfall and river that you might recognise from Game of Thrones. This is where Arya Stark and The Hound discuss her swordfighting skills, otherwise known as "Water Dancing". To access this wonderful place, you WILL need a 4x4; the road up to it is an "F" road, which in Iceland requires a 4x4. However, the rocky journey is worth it, as you can see.

Thanks for reading part 1. I'll update this with a link to part 2 when it's done. For now, if you havent already, have a look at my Iceland video, shot primarily on a Mavic Pro drone

https://steemit.com/travel/@markangeltrueman/my-recent-trip-to-iceland-filmed-with-a-mavic-pro

Part 2 Here