IcelandMy fourth visit to Iceland, but by far the best. Armed...

Photo by Lauren Farmer

Iceland

My fourth visit to Iceland, but by far the best. Armed with 12 days and a 4WD camper van we felt totally free to explore. After wending our way through the beautiful Westfjords via a spectacularly narrow and crumbling road, we drove through deserts and lava fields, bathed in hot springs and hot rivers, hiked over sand dunes and year-old lava and cooked amazing meals in the van as we careered across the island.

My favourite part was the Highlands; they are a glaciated sandy desert criss crossed by rough tracks weaving through canyons lined by slabs of lava and dipping in and out of rivers. We went into the Highlands three times and saw the northern lights every time. We also got stuck in a river.

While we came to Iceland with high hopes it exceeded our expectations. It was the most adventurous road trip I’ve done, with several roads we weren’t sure we could get down, and plenty of time spent under the bonnet. Thank you to Lauren for being there to share the experience and for being an amazing travel companion.

lauren: 3 years ago, I placed seeing the northern lights at...

lauren:

3 years ago, I placed seeing the northern lights at the “top of my list.” I wasn’t quite sure how to accomplish it, as the months I spend in Antarctica and the Arctic are in the polar summer, when it’s daylight 24 hours a day. 

But this 12 day road trip in Iceland was my chance, and I’ve been cautiously optimistic every night. Until day 7, we’d been bogged down with rain, fog and cloudy nights, but last night, last night was just perfect. 

We were in Askja in the highlands, a desolate expanse of lava fields, small mountains and endless horizons. What an incredible experience. I have huge respect for aurora photographers and their patience. 

Here are a few photos I took. I hope I get another chance to see more, but if not, this was an incredible first experience. 

I was lucky enough to see beautiful northern lights with Lauren last night. The Icelandic Highlands are stunning; we drove through lava fields and a desert, forded rivers, hiked through sand dunes, clambered across year-old lava and bathed in hot rivers. It was incredible.