Day 10 – Námafjall Hverir and Whale Watching

Today we had to drive from Egilsstadir to Akureyri where we would be staying for the next 3 nights. I had booked a whale watching tour for Tom & I out of Husavik for the afternoon (Stu & Izzy didn’t want to go). Our first stop on the route was Rjúkandi Waterfall. This was a waterfall flowing out of the hills which we could walk up to.

We then arrived at Námafjall Hverir which is a huge geothermal area. We went for a walk and there were lots of pools of bubbling mud and vents giving off steam. Tom & Izzy really enjoyed running through the steam – although you were not allowed to stray from the trails!

^{Námafjall Hverir Geothermal Area}

We headed into Husavik for our tour although I fell over on the way and ripped a massive hole in my walking trousers. On the boat everyone had to wear overalls as it was cold out at sea – and there were only about 12 people which meant there was loads of space.

^{All ready to go on our boat trip!}

The boat sailed into the bay and we found a hump back whale so watched him going underwater for food and then back up for air every 6-7 minutes. We were then given hot chocolate and donuts. Stu & Izzy drove further up the road as they wanted to see how far north they could get!!!

We then found our AirBnb for the next 3 nights.

Day 11- Dettifoss, Selfoss, Leirhnjukur and Godafoss

We headed out and it was the first day where we had really felt the cold! We began by visiting Dettifoss and Selfoss which are two waterfalls next to each other. Dettifoss is Europe’s most powerful waterfall.

^{Dettifoss and Selfoss}

We then visited Leirhnjukur – another geothermal areal full of walking paths. Again, you could not stray from the path and you could see the steam coming out of the ground.

^{Exploring Leirhnjukur}

We ended the day at Godafoss. It was a very impressive waterfall but I think we had seen a few too many at this point and it wasn’t helped by the fact it was cold – so we returned home and used the hot tub!

Day 12 – Dimmuborgir Lava Fields and Mytvyn

It was another cold day and we began by visiting Dimmuborgir Lava Fields. It was full of massive lava formations that you could walk around.

^{Dimmuborgir Lava Fields}

We didn’t stay very long and instead went to Mytvyn Nature Baths to warm up. Although by the time evening arrived the clouds had cleared and the sun came out. We arrived home to a load of bunny rabbits on the driveway and an aurora alert! We set our alarms and saw the Northern Lights for the third time on our trip. Even though it had only been a week (and we were further north) it was noticeable how much darker it was at night.

Day 13 – Northern Iceland

Our next big destination was Snæfellsjökull National Park which was over 6 hours away so we were going to travel over two days and stop for the night in an AirBnb halfway.

The sun was shining, it was much warmer and the drive was very scenic. We didn’t find many places to stop but we met some sheep and visited a monument

^{Driving across Northern Iceland}