Iceland - March 2016

[Crispin]

Iceland – 2016

To celebrate my wife’s 40[SUP]th[/SUP] birthday this year we decided to go to Iceland for a few days. I thought this would be an ideal time to piggyback a trip I have always wanted to do – an “off-road” 4x4 trip around the country. For various reasons we decided to go in March which was apparently a good time to catch the Arora Bollialis. Perhaps a bit late for my want but then I cannot argue with my wife about it nor can I complain.
So, we arrive with 6 other friends and rent out what is an awesome house on a lake near Sellfoss.



My loose plan was to leave them all behind once they leave and I stay on for another 5 days. My plan? To go as north as I can.

The very friendly and helpful guys at Iceland Car Rental (www.icelandcarrental.is) sorted me out with a boring (yet functional) van for the first part and a Land Cruiser 150 for the second part. Top chaps, best price I could find and threw in some extras for us. When I said where I was going he said “I’ll put a spade in the back for you”


First day – head north to Höfðagata along all the “b” roads. This trip could be done in just over an hour if I stuck to the main roads.
[day 1]


Day 2 – Heading north again to Hólmavík. From there I had planned to try and go north into the national park but at the time of planning the road was closed. As it turns out, they are opening the road now due to the melting snow. Will see on the day…



Day 3 – Heading west to Sauðárkróksbraut.


Day 4 – heading south again to Borgarnes.


Day 5 – Back to the airport to drop off the Land Cruiser



More to come - Life will be more fun when I pick up the 150 and get to go see the sites and hopefully, some of the F roads which have opened up.

 

[Shayne]

looking forward to your pics

 

[Crispin]

So first real day of off-roading fun was when we went snow mobiling.
We met up with Freeky (pretty sure that is not how how you spell his name) from Arctic Adventures. Really nice chap, very willing to talk 4x4s and kick tyres. His Ford "bus" has a 7.2L International diesel in it. It's obviously 4x4 but with two transfer cases. With both of them low it has a top speed of 20km/h! That is, as he says, 20km/h on a level road or ploughing through bumper-high snow. Makes no difference




Conversion for that - he cannot remember (or was to kind to say) but the tyres do cost 1.3million Korna (circa 10k euro) for a set. Gulp.

He took us up the F road F35 which was rather fun. Got airborne a few times in the back. The air suspension on the Ford did a good job of bouncing us about.

The tyres he deflates to 5psi when driving in the snow. Pretty much empty at that point?

Some more of the ridiculous trucks spotted:




Also to a took a trip to some geysers - damn! I've never seen one in real life. They had the drain for them flowing down the side of the road. I stuck my finger in and burnt it. I then saw a sign that said 80-100 degrees! Should read before touching The part that struck me was where I touched it it had already flowed about 200m down an open trench with the air temp around it 2-3C. No idea how hot it was to start with!

Watching the geysers erupt was amazing. I'll upload a video soon.

 

[Chris]

Wow, you kept that quiet. Super trip. Keep it coming.

 

[SpinDrift]

Looks like a great trip. Looking forward to more!

 

[Crispin]

Well, today was fun. Actually, it does not begin to describe the trip

Dropped off my lovely wife and friends at the airport this morning and took the Renault 9 seater van back to the rental company. I picked up my new friend for the next few days - a shiny new 150 with studded tyres Tyres with steel spikes sticking out them make anything look cool.


With my spade they said I should probably take along


A quick stop at the closest petrol station for snacks and I see this which made me chuckle. Screen wash, down to -15C, is given away for free. Just fill 'er up. And we pay how much for the Fairy Liquid rubbish? Anyway...



I point the sat-nav towards Borgarnes which is my first stop. Only a couple of hours away on the tarmac. I took the long way around the lagoon on the 47 as it was more scenic than a tunnel. A very pleasant drive it was.



Disaster - on stopping to take a pic I smell a nasty very-hot-brake smell. The front left disk is piping hot and stinks to high heaven. It's also very gouged. The front right cooler (less fizz when you spit on it ) and is the normal smooth disk you expect. The next small town I got to I sent an email to the guys at the rental company about it. They said if it persists then they would get someone in Borgarnes to meet me and take a look.



After a bite to eat in Borgarnes I headed on to Stykkishólmur. I had planned to follow the 54 all the way around but that started to seem boring. I ended up taking the 536 north off the 54. It was marked as an unpaved road which then led into a track. This sounded like fun. The maps, both the paper map I have and the Google maps are pretty inaccurate it seems. The small stream shown on the map is a raging river around 150m wide at the crossing. There was no making it over. Double back 15km and try again from the other side.





Part one of the river crossing:


Obvious reason why maps are not to be believed.


Make a U-turn, head back 15-odd KMs to the start.


Yet another failed attempt a new-found track





Parts of the ice I would have to have driven on were "floating" in thin air. OK, around 10cm thick but would it hold? If it cracked then I'd be screwed until June. (Or a lot of weeing on it to melt it)



After a few failed attempts at various routes I gave up and head on. All the routes were either blocked with ice / massive river or someone's house.
I headed back to the 54 a bit despondent when I passed the 535 which looked interesting. I took it. This was an utterly fantastic route. Both from a difficulty PoV (considering you're in a stock vehicle and alone) and a scenic PoV. The pictures do not begin to do it justice.

The first clue that things were not as they seem was when I stopped to inspect a small river crossing. Comming up in part 2.

 

[Crispin]

Route 535 and 539 in Iceland have to be two of the best routes out.




It's a bit odd when you drive down a track for a few KMs, not seeing anyone of anything and you come across this:



The whole journey along this road made the 150 feel very odd. The road was stone, it looked like hardcore which had been rolled down. Very firm and easily drivable. However, the 150 was working hard to get through it. I realised why when I stopped to inspect a river crossing.




The stone was simply a layer ontop of very very squishy mud. Nonetheless, it managed to work through it.



The first stream I might actually get to cross today. I lobbed a rock on the ice shelf to see if it cracked and how far it would fall. Would rather not have been me on it.



The rest of the route I did not take many pics of the troubles. I was too busy shitting myself that Epic Rescue Pt. 2 was in play. The road was a nightmare. The 150 was up to the bash plates and dragging the real axle along the ground. The road just could not hold us. Each time I got out to inspect it I fell through the stone topping anywhere from my ankles to half way up to my knee. At one point I could not walk. Each footstep ended up with me knee deep in mud again. Fruitlessly I ended up swearing at anything that would listen. There is not much there. Two seaguls were nearby and that is all...

However, once I made it to the plateau the view was amazing. I had what I assume to be an old volcano behind me, and nothing but flatness in front of me. The silence was amazing.

View full screen for something of the real thing.
View attachment 20160321_162218_Pano.jpg








Eventually we made it out to a firmer road. Still dirt but this time it could support us. I cannot say I was not happy. There were a number of occasions when then150 just stopped dead. It had sunk well and truly up to it's axles and bash plates. Lots of wiggling of the steering wheel and letting ATRAC try figure things out and we would start inching forwards. The tyres were also superb. Normal road tyres would have been screwed quickly. These studded snow tyres did not get clogged with mud at all. It flew free.


These are my "posh" shows. They were black swede...




Route 535 and 539 - a fantastic drive.


The conclusion:


Part 3 coming up.

 

[Crispin]

After the adventures of today I was content in heading to the B&B in Stykkishólmur via the tarmac. Skit to route 54 and just enjoy the scenery. That is until I saw route 55. That's another dirt road cutting across to where I need to be. It's marks as a road as opposed to a track so it should not be too bad.


The road leads between two mountains which ended up being a good mix of rain and sleet. Views were, for the most part, about 100m in all directions. Could not see much.





After driving for some time and not seeing anybody or anything you suddenly see a church in the distance.


I went up and had a look around - did not poke around the building but it all looks pretty unused for the winter.








The obligatory selfie. The camera really does not do it justice. I am a model in real life



Again, the views and scenery are brilliant. Just not brought through on the camera.
View attachment 20160321_175938_Pano.jpg



I finally make it through to the town where I am staying. I booked a B&B. I think they're using a bit of their imagination when they call it a B&B. Hostel is a closure match. I walked into the house only to have a Japanese lady in a towel walk past me into a room. My mind raced...


One "clean" shoe, one notsomuch


Me chum for the day. Been a great day and worked well. The smelly brake has gone now. Will keep an eye on it and see how it goes.



Tomorrow - Hólmavík and the Icelandic Witchcraft Museum. And more tracks

 

[Shayne]

Looks great i think i would be happy to drive around in circles all day enjoying the solitude of that landscape (i would sooner do it in my own truck though) . How much was the Japanese lady ?

 

[clivehorridge]

Looks great i think i would be happy to drive around in circles all day enjoying the solitude of that landscape (i would sooner do it in my own truck though) . How much was the Japanese lady ?

Shayne! Be'ave How have I missed this? Brilliant Cris!Don't have much luck with 150's do you, it seems. Anyway, looks like it performed. Shame about the posh shoes Iceland alone, sounds a bit brave, or just foolish, but so far you're getting away with it. I like the extensive recovery gear kit they provide Looking forward to the updates

 

[Chris]

Hang on. Back up. Did you say 'nimble little frame?' Sorry, going to have to call that one. Next thing you'll be claiming to be a Driving God!

 

[Crispin]

Looks great i think i would be happy to drive around in circles all day enjoying the solitude of that landscape (i would sooner do it in my own truck though) . How much was the Japanese lady ?

Ha ha. Turns out she was a guest :S

 

[Crispin]

Shayne! Be'ave How have I missed this? Brilliant Cris!Don't have much luck with 150's do you, it seems. Anyway, looks like it performed. Shame about the posh shoes Iceland alone, sounds a bit brave, or just foolish, but so far you're getting away with it. I like the extensive recovery gear kit they provide Looking forward to the updates

Well, I had to make use of the extensive recovery kit today. Had some fantastic scenery and some pretty interesting roads. Busy uploading pics now.

 

[Crispin]

Hang on. Back up. Did you say 'nimble little frame?' Sorry, going to have to call that one. Next thing you'll be claiming to be a Driving God!

I am nimble. My self-help tape tells me that.

Actually, some of your wise words played back in my head today. Quite possibly stopped me from ending up on my roof.

 

[Crispin]

Dammit. I've fallen victim to the "Invalid attachment" problem!

Clive - think back, when it happened to you did you take a while to do the post? I noticed a small "disclaimer" stating "attachments not used within an hour will be deleted".
I think this is what happened to me

 

[clivehorridge]

Dammit. I've fallen victim to the "Invalid attachment" problem!

Clive - think back, when it happened to you did you take a while to do the post? I noticed a small "disclaimer" stating "attachments not used within an hour will be deleted".
I think this is what happened to me

Bugger, yes often it did take some time but not always. It seems temperamental, when you think it will fail it works and vv.
I never got a message like that although it says it.

ive always had to reload them in edit same source, then they work. It's a PITA. Sorry.

 

[Crispin]

Bugger, yes often it did take some time but not always. It seems temperamental, when you think it will fail it works and vv.
I never got a message like that although it says it.

ive always had to reload them in edit same source, then they work. It's a PITA. Sorry.

Well that has to be one of the most frustrating times. Really, how hard can it be? Who runs this damned thing

I tried re-adding all the pics but then everything doubled up. Trying to get them to show properly was not worth the effort. I deleted the post

I'll re-post it this evening when I arrive on the farm.

In short - it was an awesome day, great scenery and some backside twitching moments. Thoroughly enjoying myself.

 

[whereisgibson]

Glad to see it has started to thaw out!

 

[Crispin]

Right, let's try this again. How utterly frustrating it is. Now that I know what the problem is I can fix it

Anyway...


After leaving Stykkishólmur I headed north to Holmavik along the 54. Just on the edge of the town I thought I saw what has to be the most unused piece of equipment out.



As it turns out, they're in just about every town. Why not when you have non-stop hot water coming out the rocks.


A pleasant enough trip which could be done in a fiesta. Great scenery was to be had on every side of you.

I did get a chuckle at this - a steel dumpster has to be weighed down further with two truck tyres filled with concrete.




The horses in Iceland are also slightly hardier than their UK cousins. The farmer down the road from me puts jackets on his when the temp reaches a balmy 10C. These ones were laughing...


I stopped off at a small shop in Búðardalur for some food. The shops out here are brilliant. You can buy food, knitting wool and a half-shaft for the Ferguson tractor.

A rather dirtier-than-when-collected 150 standing outside the shop. Interestingly, there are very few dirty cars and no (perhaps one of two) very old cars. They all in good nic.




One book I did notice while walking around - not sure if it's a best seller but I guess there's not much to do on a Friday night...




Had a fascinating chat over a cup of coffee with the cashier (I was already drinking coffee - she was on a break). Told me a bunch of history about the area, where I should go, where I should not bother going etc.

She also told me about Erik the Red who's family are still in the area. It was his son who found north America before Christopher Columbus.
Just outside the the shop was what I assume to be a small boat engine. Single cylinder diesel? What would the RPM be of that? 200?








Just outside the town there was a monument. Not sure what it was for. Trying to find out on the interweb.



On towards the 590 along the 60 and heading for the lap of the peninsula. Much scenery to be had.






More coming up. (Tomorrow )

 

[Crispin]

Glad to see it has started to thaw out!

It's all pretty much gone today. A nice snow storm I drove through this afternoon but other than that, not much snow on the low grounds.