The Land of Ice
....and this may sound stupid, but it really is icy!

Though the trip to far off Iceland didn't start too well. Anna and I (unwisely) decided to accept an invitation to a dinner party the night before our flight the next morning - and that it early next morning, with a taxi picking us up at 5am. Promising ourselves that we would excuse ourselves early, we failed miserably and finally got a taxi back home around the 2am region and very much worse for wear. So much so that we completely slept through our alarms at 4.15am, only to be woken up by the doorbell by the aforementioned 5am taxi! Slightly bewildered and very much hungover, it took me some 5 minutes to get The GrandMistress to realise the seriousness of the situation, at which point ensued a few well placed expletives and pointless scurrying. 15 minutes and two selectively missed calls from Brad & Shaz (who we were suppose to have picked up 20 minutes prior), we were finally on our way....

After a much less eventful flight we touch down in sunny Iceland. Well, maybe not so sunny. In fact, we were met but what could only be described as a blizzard - making for an interesting cowering sprint (more a warble really) to our hire cars. With such splendid weather there was only one thing to do really - head to the hot springs. And not just any hot springs, but the Blue Lagoon.

The next day we embarked on the Golden Circle - not much gold, but plenty of good scenery. Also gave us our first proper look of Iceland. Certainly is a bizarre place, very harsh and barren, a bit like a huge Tongario National Park. Was also struck by how much snow and ice there still was (which does sound stupid considering the name of the place).










Apart from just enjoying taking in the whole scenery thing, there would have to be two highlights for me. First was Thingvellir - or the Rift Valley. It is where the Eurasian tectonic plate is pulling away from the North Atlantic plate - at a few millimetres a year. As a history lesson as well, the valley was also the site of Iceland's first Althing - which was the first recorded parliament anywhere.

The other highlight was the Gulfoss falls - the largest volume falls in Europe. And there certainly is plenty of water plunging through it. Is a lot bigger than this picture gives it credit for. The other major site on the Golden Circle is the geysir. Also quite impressive, more so the regularity at which it goes off, about every 5 minutes like clock work. Makes for great watching as new tourists come along not realising they are standing in the path of the water and steam that is shot 30 odd metres into the air.

Deciding to make the most of what was a beautiful (if not cold) day, we decided to head on down to the Southern coast of Iceland. This gave us the chance to use our 4-wheel drives (thanks for the upgrades Mr Avis) to drive up to an arm of the Myrdalsjokull glacier. Being typically prepared in the Kiwi way, we decided to take a short hike up the glacier, complete with trainers, sunglasses, a couple of muesli bars and a discarded crampon we picked up on the way. Despite the odd harmless flurry of snow, we managed to avoid igniting any Search & Rescue missions and got to muck around on a glacier like you would never be able to do back in NZ (where I am sure there would be a barb-wired fence 100 metres out and some guy in a security uniform who has just graduated from school bully).

On our only other full day in Iceland, we drove up north along the western coast this time. Maybe not as dramatic as the previous day, but still plenty of inspiring scenery. It did also include an eventful search for lunch. A piece of advice for all of you, when touring around Iceland on Easter Sunday, take your own lunch!

After all this tourist stuff, there was only one more thing to do tick off the list for Iceland, and that was to go out on the town in Reykjavik - the locals being infamous for their party hard attitude. In a irony I have noticed in all Scandinavian countries, where alcohol is supposedly somewhat of a taboo (beer was only legalised in Iceland in 1989!), they seem to be the biggest pissheads I have even come across. With alcohol quite expensive (beer wasn't too bad at about £4-£5 a pint, wine and spirits was ridiculous expensive - the govt must be collecting a fair whack of duty), the Icelandic usually have house parties until about 1am before heading out to the pubs and clubs. So in an effort to fit in, we did the same, doing a good job of polishing off the remaining wine and spirits we smuggled in the country. Of course, it looks like we Kiwi's aren't as hardy as these Icelandic folk, as before we even ventured outside we had lost over half our crew. However, Anna, Brad, Si and I steadfastly headed out in the cold to see what the fuss was all about. First stop was to stand in the queue in front of Sircus - a very bohemian bar famous for being the local hangout of Bjork. Well, when we finally managed to get in, there certainly was a strange mix of people in there and we certainly stuck out. The locals get very dressed up to go out, and our dress-down approach certainly put the "outsider" sign up. Neverthess, it was a cool little spot (very Cuba Street-ish) and the music was good. On advise from a local, we moved on to another bar a little more upmarket. After another 15 minutes or so queueing in the very brisk Reykjavik air, we were again into a bar that was living up to the Icelandic reputation. Managed another couple of drinks in between making fun of the locals before finally heading back to the pad at about 4.30am. Apparently we were not the quietist and certainly not the wisest (consider we were suppose to be getting up at 8am for our flight!). But it was all very much worth the pain the next morning (well, later than morning, really) as would not have wanted to go all that way without experiencing the infamous Reykjavik nightlife.

All in all, a great trip. We did have thoughts of staying on another couple of days initially, but the 4 days we did have was perfect and we fitted in plenty in our time there. I didn't think it as expensive as the reputation it bears either. Things certainly cost more, but that much more, and because there isn't really a whole lot of things to spend your money on, I think it is probably one of the cheaper trips I've been on. Certainly makes a difference when all the tourist sights are free and you are not being fleeced as you are often are around continental Europe. It is hard to believe people live there though. It does feel like a very remote and harsh environment (top temperature in summer is 17 degrees) and there really doesn't seem like that much to do if you weren't a tourist. However, this remoteness and harshness is also quite stunning and I am glad I got the chance to see it. A couple more pics to sign off on; the first I think shows how small you can feel in this place (see what looks to be quite a large farm house dwarfed by its surroundings); the second of the crew on tour and all that whiteness!

For some more pics, click here.