After starting our Ring Road adventure with the impressive Snæfellsnes peninsula in the east and our first hike in the Ásbyrgi canyon in the north, we are continuing with the impressive sights in north Iceland, before heading into the remote east where beautiful scenic drives are waiting for us. Good morning, it’s day number, officially day number three. I’m just ready for a big breakfast and then, a bigger day out on the road. To day three. Road trip. (water crashing) At our next stop, here to north, is the Godafoss waterfall. Godafoss is Icelandic for waterfall of the gods. In the year, the lawspeaker Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi made Christianty the official religion of Iceland. According to a modern myth, it is said that upon returning from Althing, Thorgeir threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall.
Things to do in North Iceland East Iceland Ring Road Circling Iceland Photo Gallery
Just about to go to bed, it’s : and then I saw the Northern Lights are happening so we just came out of our house because we have Northern Lights right in front of our house, see that? You can actually see that here posting. This is unreal. A full understanding of the physical processes which lead to different types of auroras is still incomplete but the basic cause involves the interaction of the solar wind with the earth’s magnetic sphere. Auroras are the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the earth’s atmosphere with charged particles, released from the sun’s atmosphere. The lights are seen around the magnetic poles of the Northern and Southern hemispheres which makes Iceland one of the best places to see the Aurora, especially from September to April as this is the only time you have full dark nights here. We’re sadly leaving our home away by the Fjord and we’re heading to the east of Iceland today but first, we’re gonna check out some waterfalls and some volcanic activity. This is gonna be awesome. [GPS] Keep to the right. Yeah. We’re now in Myvatn which is an area of high geothermal activity so we have mud is here, we have hot springs, and we also have a cave which is very famous for Game of Thrones. The Myvatn district lies on the western border of the volcanic zone which cuts across northeastern Iceland from north to south and is an extension of the mid-atlantic ridge. All geological formations are quite recent. Dating from the ice age and post glacial times. Myvatn itself is a shallow eutrophic lake which was created by large basaltic lava eruption, years ago, the name of the lake Icelandic for the lake of the midges, comes from the huge number of midges to be found there in the summer. Alright, guys, next spot on the list is a cave which is famous from Game of Thrones. This is the place where Jon Snow and Ygritte got cozy.
So, we got a little bit late to Dettifoss so we’re now walking with our torch lights and we wanna do some long exposure photography, we don’t need any filters, today. Dettifoss is reputed to be the most powerful waterfall in Europe, the superlative of most powerful comes from it’s waterfall times it’s fall distance. The water comes from the nearby Vatnajökull glacier and falls for more than meters causing a massive crashing spray. For time in the east, we stay in a little cottage here in Bragdavellir, let’s have a look inside. Our plan for the day was to hike into Sey?isfjör?ur so we drove two hours north but this time, the weather wasn’t on our side. What do you think, should we hike? Not happening, no, let’s get a hot dog. Hikes off, we’re gonna go try and find a hot dog instead. Came to a gas station to have a hot dog. That’s the way to do it. (car engine revs) After our first failed attempt of hiking today, the sun now came out and we drove to another spot to Hengifoss hike. The Hengifoss is third highest waterfall in Iceland. It takes about to minutes to walk to the waterfall which is a height of meters, Hengifoss is surrounded by basaltic strata with thin layer reds of clay between the basaltic layers. My name is Garreth Leonard and this is extreme waterfall posing.
the down, the Hengifoss river is Litlanesfoss notable for the columnar jointed volcanics around it. Beside the fjords and waterfalls, the east, and especially the southeast of Iceland offer some of the most picturesque coastal drives. In an area which is less touristy than others, do to it’s distance to the capital. Right down to our last drop of gasoline, we have kilometers to try to make it to the gas station. We just got caught up shooting photos at this incredible location. We’re laughing on the gas situation, the icon starts to blink. Just crossed the tunnel. Oh god, gas station is still kilometers away. Made it through the tunnel though. That’s the most important thing. If we would’ve got stuck in that tunnel, that would’ve been bad. So guys, always get gas at a gas station you see even when you’re only half filled up. Well we are one minute away,. kilometers away and this baby is starting to pump a little. It wants to shut down but he’s staying strong for us, the money duster is coming through. The pin is right on our map, we have it in sight. Wow. meters away, zero meters away. Looks like we made it. Yes. (hands clap) We made it. Man, that was a close call for a second. Hofn, a beautiful little fishing town in the southeast located on peninsula. Beautiful spot to check out. The cottage and Garreth just prepared some nice dinner for us, that’s the way to do it if you have your own cottage.
