This tour took us to the North of Iceland to catch the powerful Dettifoss waterfall before the big thaw. The mountain roads to the north were quite slippery and I am glad I had 4×4 for some of the steeper parts. We made our way to Iceland’s north coast, stopping at Hvítserkur and Borgarvirki in the North West.
Sunset at Goðafoss
We then pushed on to Akureyri, the capital of north Iceland, in time for an evening meal before hitting the sunset at Goðafoss waterfall. We were in for a treat because the sun was setting in the West between the mountains of the valley. I raced to one of my favourite spots to grab this shot while the sun was still yellow.
We spent the second day exploring the Mývatn lake region including a hike on the snow covered craters of Krafla volcano.
Superjeep Adventure
In the afternoon, we arranged for a superjeep to take us across the tundras to the east side of Dettifoss waterfall. This was probably the last chance to drive over the thawing snow before the road opens again in June. Iceak picked us up in a well equipped Nissan Patrol with 42″ tyres.
As we came off the ring road toward the eastern side of Dettifoss, our driver noticed that the snow was already starting to thaw. He stopped and let some air out of the huge tyres. Deep, wet snow is probably the most challenging 4×4 driving condition. Even our superjeep was slowed to a crawl in places. Our driver had to let more air out of the tyres.
When the jeep reached it’s limit, we had to almost slide down a snow bank to get to Dettifoss waterfall. We managed to get right to the edge and feel the power. I took my 50mm lens and walked a few hundred meters to get this shot from one of the view points.
Extreme Iceland
Walking through the very deep snow at Detifoss waterfall was extremely hard work. I took the lead because I am heavy with strong legs and big boots. I would have been easier to follow me along the trail. There are parts along the Western edge of Dettifoss that just have a sheer dop into the canyon to certain death. These are terrifying in the Summer, but in these icy conditions of North Iceland in April, I was keeping very well clear of the edge.
Evening at Námaskarð
Our skillful driver managed to get us back to the safety of the ring road. He even got us back to the restaurant at Myvatn in time for an evening meal.
We went out after dinner to catch the evening colours at Námaskarð Hverir, only a short drive from Lake Myvatn. The steaming vents and bubbling mud pots can work well with sunset colours and you can photograph alien landscape scenes.
Diamond Circle Tours
The diamond circle is a north Iceland route that include Dettifoss and Godafoss waterfalls. If conditions are good these Iceland nature locations can offer amazing landscape photography. Most Diamond Circle Tours depart from Akureyri and last a full day.
