Backtracking and Waterfalls

Today would be backtracking the road along the south coast so we were hoping for some better weather than the way there. What we’ve realised about the weather in Iceland is that it changes extremely quickly. We drove through some heavy rain on the way back to Vik and arrived at a clear spell. Seizing the opportunity we hiked up to the top of the seacliff that looked down across the black sand beach we saw the previous day - Reynisfjara. Despite getting hit with some outrageous wind and some ice rain the sun poked back out and gave us a stunning golden glow across the landscape.

We dropped back into Skógafoss and were able to get some better photos with a bit more light. And then stopped again at Seljalandsfoss. This was the waterfall we had squeezed into at the end of our first day that had the track behind it. Thankfully today the path was open and it was well worth stopping by again. Being able to stand behind a massive 65m waterfall is an experience I’m glad we didn’t miss.

Now on our 4th day, we had still not seen the Northern Lights. To up our chances we booked into what we hoped would be our best chance yet. A completely transparent perspex Igloo! Set up on a field with zero light pollution we had a clear view across the horizon. With 3 heaters, a big warm blanket and a bottle of wine we set hourly alarms and waited. Incredibly, the first half of the night was a clear sky full of stars. It’s said that the greatest chance of seeing the Aurora is after midnight. Unfortunately for us, by that time the clouds had blown in and it started snowing. Missed it again.Read more