Monday 18 June 2012

Iceland Day 6 - Landmannalaugar Tour with IC Highlands

Last tour in Iceland today. Was picked up around 8.45 by Johann and his somewhat bigger bus. Today's tour was to Landmannalaugar, a beautifully colourful area of the central highlands. There were only 5 of us tourists, which was nice. Two of them I'd met before on the tour to Snaefellsness - a married couple from Slovakia. The other two were german girls - one worked as a professor in the United States, and the other was probably a student.
Johann is very passionate about his highlands and told us stories of the Highlands in his father's day and going on tours with his father before starting himself as soon as he got his licence. He also told us that tourism isn't his trade, but the financial crisis chopped people from the top for a change and he lost his technician job and found himself back to being tour guide/driver.
There's a lot of hydro electric power stations up in the Highlands now - you see the power masts everywhere. And they want to build more and more dams and flood areas of the Highlands. The government also wants to increase tourism to 1 million people a year, without making any changes to the infrastructure. This is bad for the delicate ecology of the country, of course.
Our first stop on the tour was at the oldest wooden house (second oldest house) in Iceland - in Eyrarbakki, which is now a museum (we didn't go in):
Oldest wooden house (second oldest house) in Iceland - in Eyrarbakki
We drove by Mount Hekla - Iceland's most active volcano, erupting every ten years. In the middle ages, this volcano was assumed to be the gates of hell:
Hekla Volcano Hekla Volcano
We had a short stop to buy our lunch, since there'd be nowhere to get any up in the Highlands, and to get caffeinated if desired. I desired.
Our next stop was already in the Highlands, at Hjalparfoss waterfall. Johann didn't get out of the bus, for good reason: the area is full of little flies. I put the Aussie Salute to good use there! It also started to spit a little rain, so I only took a couple of photos and ran back to the bus:
Hjalparfoss waterfall
We drove past many, but here's just one of the canals and dams with the power masts that dotted the landscape:
Canal from one of the Hydro power stations The Highlands The Highlands
The area is so barren up here, it's no wonder they used it as the astronauts' training ground for the moon-landing:
The Highlands The Highlands
All the green you see here is from moss - it's the only thing that can grow in these conditions:
The Highlands The Highlands The Highlands 
The next stop was at the Hnausapollur Crater. It's surrounded by black volcanic ash and lava for miles:
Hnausatollar Crater Views from Hnausatollar CraterViews from Hnausatollar Crater  
Then it was back on the bus and getting closer to Landmannalaugar - the mountains were getting quite colourful:
The Highlands The Highlands The Highlands The Highlands The Highlands The Highlands The Highlands The Highlands The Highlands Near Landmannalaugar
To get to the Landmannalaugar area, you have to cross a stream, at least it's not a river!
Landmannalaugar Landmannalaugar Landmannalaugar Landmannalaugar Landmannalaugar
Landmannalaugar area itself has a ranger station and a camping ground with toilet and shower facilities. And of course, the hot spring for bathing! There's a few well-marked hiking trails, too. We had our lunch and had to decide whether to go on a 1 1/2 hour hike with Johann or if we wanted to just go in the hot spring while the others hiked. I was of two minds. I sort of looked forward to a hot spa in nature, but I didn't want to miss out on the sights on the hike even though I was concerned about my shoes not being appropriate, especially in the snow. Johann said he'd help me where necessary, and I could always turn back. We had some Icelandic delicacies: dried fish and Brinnevin (a type of vodka flavoured with caraway seed) to fortify ourselves and then we were off on the walk:
Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Johann our guide Views on the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar
There was still a bit of snow hanging around, even though it was summer:
Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar
There's a hot thermal area here (which no doubt feeds the springs) which we passed near to:
Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar
Then it was down a snowy slope and heading back towards the springs:
Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar - we walked through that snow! Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Johann and views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar  Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar Views from the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar
It's amazing where moss campion will grow:
Moss Campion flowers on the Graenagil hike at Landmannalaugar
And then we were back at the hot springs:
The hot springs at Landmannalaugar The hot springs at Landmannalaugar The hot springs at Landmannalaugar The hot springs at Landmannalaugar The hot springs at Landmannalaugar The hot springs at Landmannalaugar
Johann said we had time for a dip if we wanted, but nobody was so inclined after our hike, so we headed for Reykjavik, passing by Mount Hekla again:
Mt Hekla volcano
On the way home, Johann regaled us with tales of elves and trolls, while maintaining his non-believer status. Though he did admit to believing in ghosts.
When I arrived back at the Town House, Bob and Laurie had just asked Harpa to fill the hot tub and Harpa told me that the boys (Norwegians men who'd been staying in one of the rooms) had left their beer for us. I was disappointed it wasn't Icelandic, but hey, free beer! I was determined to go and eat dinner at the Askur - I was in dire need of some meat after eating vegetarian and fish since arriving in Iceland. Bob and Laurie decided to keep me company - they'd already had something to eat so didn't want to have a full meal.
I ordered the lamb shank and it was really good and not excessively expensive - about $25. Bob and Laurie just had a little garlic bread and beer. After dinner we made use of the hot tub that Harpa had filled up for us. Harpa even gave me an Icelandic beer to have in it!! She's so sweet! It was nice to relax in the tub after the hike and stresses of the day, and with some good company! We made plans for the next day and Bob and Laurie went to bed, while I stayed up and worked on my blog a bit and chatted with Harpa when she came up to say good night.