 Poster: A snowHead
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I went to Reykjavik a couple of weeks back for my OH's 30th - a truly great trip. We didn't actually get any skiing in but we did spend a day on the snow so I thought I'd write a little report.....
Weds morning started off clear, cold and crisp. We boarded our ridiculously large jeep vehicle - seriously the largest ever "car" I've seen!! Luckily there was only one other person with us so the three of us had the guide and vehicle all to ourselves.
We set off toward the hot springs, Storkkur geysir and Pingvellir area, along the way encountering many Icelandic horses - fascinating creatures! They are really furry, like bears and they have 5 ways of moving (as opposed to the usual four) - the fifth way is wierd to watch!
The Strokkur geysir was stunning and we had it all to ourselves for a whole half an hour - none of this namby pampy health and safety culture either - no guards, a small rope and you can get nice and close!
Then onto Pingvellir - where the European and American plates are moving apart. The lake created was iced over and I have never ever seen ice like it - so blue and crystally and sprakly - really unique because it's so clean.
Then on to the glacier - here we had the real fun - the jeep really came in to it's own, roaring up gradients which i estimated to be "red runs" and roaring back down again - every so often the guide would jump out and let the pressure down in the tyres to allow us to go on - we were at 2 p.s.i at our lowest.
The snow was very deep and we went sledging - loads of fun but the snow had a tough crust like layer on top and in places was very icy - it's so cold out there that this wasn't surprising to me - I'm not sure I'd have faniced skiing it to be honest.
Once on the glacier we stopped for a play around in the snow - again, all by ourselves and with a sky so clear that we could see peaks 100kms away and literally not one other person or vehicle in sight - and had a shot of the local stuff, Brennivin, very strong and not that nice but very warming!!
I would wholly recommend a winter visit to Iceland - it's country of such individuality and beauty - I have travelled all over the world, including the Alps, Andes, Pyrenees and New Zealand and I have honestly never seen anything like it. (And that report covers just one day of a 4 day visit).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi
Iceland sounds great.
My otherhalf has got it into his head about driving there in our motorhome to see the northern lights!! 
Did you go on a package deal?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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No, I booked everything seperately:
Flew BA - Gatwick to Keflavik.
FlyBus to Reykjavik and back to airport - great service this was.
Hotel Borg - found on internet, spoke directly to reception manager who upgraded us to a suite for free and gave us champagne in the room - all just because I asked!!
Jeep excursion with www.mountaintaxi.is - recommeded by hotel.
Northern Lights - I was determined to see them and convinvced I would but as my guide told me - the Northern Lights can only be predicted up to two days in advance and even then, they don't really bother. They appear in random and unpredictable places for random and unpredictable lengths of time - sometimes 5 mins, sometimes 30 mins. And of course, you have to have clear skies. My conclusion was that I'd need to be v lucky or spend a lot of time there in order to see them.
How would you drive there? Is there a ferry you can take?!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Interesting report. I would like to go there sometime. Did you go on one of the whale watching trips?
This guy drove to Iceland, via the Shetlands and Faroe Islands, so it is do-able though as he says a little complex.
I think that the sun is fairly quiet at the moment, which might reduce the chances of seeing the Northern Lights. I'm not too sure though.
FWIW IIRC Icelandic horses have two additional gaits (tolt and pace) compared to most UK horses, but they count two (gallop and canter) of the UK horses gaits as one.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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PK2, yes, it's all dependent on the sun flaring so if there's not much of that going on then there won't be any lights. I was so convinced I'd see them but much less dissappointed when i found out the probability was so low.
The Icelandic horse has this gait which (when you watch it in slow motion) shows they only have one foot on the floor at any one time but the rider just has to lean back and sit still - watching them do it, the rider is barely moving - it evolved as a way for the horses to run over the rocky lava fields etc...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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and no, we didn't go Whale Watching - that's a summer activity although I would love to go back in the summer and do it.
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nightshift, the gait you describe there sounds like the tolt - IMO much more comfortable than trotting. It does feel a bit funny to start with though. They also have, perhaps more so in those that work/show than the wild ones, a gait called pace which is where the two legs on each side move forwards (and backwards) together (c.f. trotting where the diagonally opposite pairs work together). I only asked about the whale watching as I would like to do it sometime. I felt the same about the northern lights since I went to Lapland this year and failed to see them
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I quite like the look of the place. Do you find a lot of Mothers there?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Marc t'Mosher wrote: |
| I quite like the look of the place. Do you find a lot of Mothers there? |
Took me a while but ha ha and no!! Not a frozen lamb roasting joint in the whole city!!
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