hkskyline in ICELAND Photo Collection

hkskyline · #1 Posted **Aug 31, 2012, 9:02 AM**

Looking for a fun, long way from Asia to Canada, I landed in Iceland hoping for a great eco-tourism vacation and something profoundly different from the city-hopping I'm used to doing in Europe. I've already posted my Reykjavik photos earlier.

The Golden Circle is a 300-km route covering several key landmarks near Reykjavik. The sun emerged above this rocky landscape near Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.

The busy tourist season has ended, and there was barely a soul travelling on the road.

The Icelandic chieftains gathered here and formed the world's first parliament, the Althing. This meeting place is now part of Þingvellir National Park.

The mix of rocks, hills, water, and the autumn colours make this gathering site quite unique and special.

The site is quite big and spread-out, and tourists were thinly-scattered around.

The weather was quite unpredictable. Brief periods of sunshine were interrupted by an annoying downpour. Then a rainbow would emerge to encourage you to stick around a little longer.

I'm used to seeing autumn colours on big trees, not on shrubs. But it's nevertheless a pretty sight.

The GPS played a crucial role on this road trip, giving directions from one stop to the next in this empty landscape.

The Geysir area smells of chemicals with many spouts of steam warming up the cold air and creating a perpetual haze.

This appears to be a must-stop attraction, and crowds were lined up to watch the water spout up from the ground every few minutes.

The ground gleams in red thanks to the abundance of chemicals pouring out from the centre of the earth.

Gullfoss is quite an impressive waterfall not because of its height, but rather its width and steps. Too bad the weather didn't co-operate.

Skálholt was the home of Iceland's first bishop, and was a wealthy and influential settlement of 200 people in the 13th century. The church featured here opened in 1956, and has an ornate mosaic of Christ.

More on my website : http://www.globalphotos.org/iceland-circle.htm

ColDayMan · #2 Posted **Aug 31, 2012, 8:10 PM**

Amazing.

toyota74 · #3 Posted **Aug 31, 2012, 10:54 PM**

What a cool place,I wish there was a ferry from here to Iceland or a ryanair flight.

hkskyline · #4 Posted **Sep 5, 2012, 12:38 PM**

Iceland's Highway 1 is the only route the circles the island nation, running over 1300 km across towns, natural wonders, and incredible landscapes.

It is morning in Vik, a small town on the southern shore of Iceland. The rain and fog are back, and the neat rocks just off the coast are barely visible.

So many waterfalls could be seen along the ring road eastwards.

There were also a lot of sheep. Tasty lamb chops were common across Icelandic restaurants!

Blocks of ice that have broken off the Vatnajökull glacier fill up Jökulsárlón's glacial lagoon. Like the glaciers I've toured in Canada, these chunks retained the deep blue traits.

With global warming, would there be more glacial chunks filling up the lagoon going forward?

It was way past lunch time upon arrival in Höfn. This fishing town is also by the sea, but further east from Vik.

The rain would not cease, but despite the unpleasant weather, the photos still are able to convey the obvious livelihood of this town - fishing.

This town actually doesn't have many restaurants. We had to ask around to find a lobster dinner. Apparently, Höfn is famous for lobster!

After a night's rest, the drive continues across Iceland's east, then turning to the country's north. Stopping just outside Höfn, the morning tranquility was eerie but beautiful.

There were lots of mountains and vegetation-filled plains. This part of Iceland is still lush.

The coastal scenery was beautiful. It was very different from the glacial views from the day before.

Highway 1 is not really a big road by international standards. It was 1 lane in each direction, and drivers policed themselves to let others pass safely.

Although the ocean was beautiful, there was a lot of territory to cover today, so it was time to divert onto a gravel road to cut across the mountains near Berufjordhur.

Two lost sheep were suddenly trapped on the hillside as our photography troupe approached, initially to photograph the waterfalls, but soon all attention went to them.

I'm not a geologist, but the facade seems to tell a rich history.

After a harrowing drive up steep gradients on gravel, experiencing snowfall in the upper elevations, and a fun descent back to the plains, it was time for a gas and lunch stop at Egilsstaðir.

This supermarket chain fed us throughout the trip.

Like the other towns along the route, this one was also not big. The airport was within walking distance from the town itself.

More photos on my website : http://www.globalphotos.org/iceland-hwy1.htm

hkskyline · #5 Posted **Oct 27, 2012, 11:15 AM**

There was plenty of water around, enhanced by the autumn colours.

The drive towards Mývatn was totally different from the morning. The landscape was barren - it was as if we landed on the moon. It was a sea of broken rocks and signs of humanity disappeared for hours.

Iceland is a seismically-active land, and a great way to harnass it is to build a power station on top of it. The Krafla power station is a huge facility. There was no problem driving all the way up to the crater lake.

A strong smell of sulphur greeted visitors to Hverir, a large geothermal field of steam vents. While minerals and chemicals have scarred the earth into various colours, the hot steam was a welcoming change on a cold day.

There were a number of bubbling pools that are roped off so visitors won't burn their feet making the wrong step.

A sea of interesting pillars lay at Dimmuborgir. They were created some 2200 years ago when molten lava pooled here and hardened around steam vents.

hkskyline · #6 Posted **Nov 5, 2012, 6:42 AM**

It's early morning and time to set off for a long day of driving. The first stop is to gas up in Akureyri.

Heading north along the coast, we followed the mountains the hugged the coast.

The road rose with the mountains and soon became slushy and a bit dangerous as we swerved around nerve-wrecking bends. We arrived in a snow-covered Ólafsfjörður on the other side of the mountains.

The GPS that came with the rental car was not so up-to-date. I recalled researching a tunnel that went through the mountains from here, but the GPS directions did not mention this. After a bit of visual searching, we found the tunnel, which greatly shortened the journey to Siglufjordhur.

After lunch, we set off to round the coast, which saw more significant changes in the road conditions as we rose and descended along the mountains. At one point, we slowed to a crawl along snow-covered roads with the cliffs and ocean next door.

The difference is quite drastic. Once past the mountains, the landscape became lush and green again. Snow seemed to be a distant problem.

Our final stop of the day, amidst the setting light, was Hvítserkur. The rock formation evoked fairy tale fantasies of a dragon rising out of the cold, northern ocean.

More : http://www.globalphotos.org/iceland-nw.htm

MolsonExport · #7 Posted **Dec 6, 2012, 1:57 AM**

Jaw dropping. Fanfuckingtastic photos. Damn, what a great road trip.