On the 3rd day of our tour, we were heading to the South Shore, it was a wet and windy experience. We stopped by 2 famous Waterfalls, the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano and Reynisfjara Beach(Black sand beach). It was a long and yet fulfilling day, whereby we got to witness the stunning landscape of the southern part of Iceland, every turn on the road is picturesque.
After our breakfast, as our bus driver need to wash the tour bus, we had a pit stop at a nearby petrol kiosk. So here we are, and the weather was great~!
Someone came by before wrote this here~
We were on the road 15 minutes later. The below photos were taken while I was on the bus on our way to the first stop, one of the famous waterfall in Iceland south coast.
The scenery was so different from what we saw the day before where it was all covered in snow. Our tour guide explains that it is because of the warm ocean currents, which come from the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf Stream, which was the reason why the sea around Iceland does not freeze, and the weather is at a higher temperature comparing to any other place in the world on the same latitude.
Seljalandsfoss
One of the well-known waterfall in Iceland, the waterfall drops 60m and part of the Seljalands River origins from the volcano, Eyjafjallajökullglacier. What made this waterfall so special? You can walk behind into a small cave, and you could see the waterfall from the cave.
To note:
Be caution when walking behind Seljalandsfoss, as the path can be slippery.
During winter, walking behind the waterfall is not permitted due to the risk of falling ice.
Where?
Operating hours:
24 Hours
Cost?
Free
What to see?
You can walk further into the observatory deck
In order to get to the back of the waterfall, you need to walk on the side trail. Just take extra caution, while walking here, and it is better to have your ice grippers on or else you will be ice skating your way. As per our tour guide’s advice, it was not advisable to walk behind the waterfall due to the icy floor. Therefore, we did not get to the back of the waterfall.
We spent an hour taking photos and enjoying the scenery. It was crowded when we were there. The walk towards the observatory deck, and even walking behind the waterfall requires some guts as the floor is really slippery~
Skógafoss
A short distance from Seljalandsfoss, we are here at one of the biggest and most beautiful waterfalls of the island, with an astounding width of 25 meters and a drop of 60 meters. This waterfall is situated on the Skógá River in the south of Iceland at the cliffs of the former coastline.
There is a walking trail at the right for you to climb up to view the top of the waterfall.
Where?
Operating hours:
24Hours
Cost?
Free
What to see?
The magnificent view of Skógafoss
Trying to get close to it but it was not easy.
Despite having our ice grippers on, the path towards the waterfall was difficult, and it was really slippery. But if we didn’t have our ice grippers on , we would be having ice skating session here.
ÞORVALDSEYRI
After spending close to an hour at the Skógafoss, we had a short stopover at the famous farm site, name ÞORVALDSEYRI, which sits right below the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano. It was a sneak peak of our itinerary where we can get an insight of what happened to this little village tomorrow.
Most of the tour group will have a stopover at a petrol kiosk with bistro bar, Víkurskáli before heading over to the black sand beach. Therefore, during lunchtime this bistro bar is crowded but they have enough seats to accommodate the crowd. We had our lunch there, however, if you do not like to wait for your food, you can just grab some food from the convenient store and have a seat outdoor.
Menu:
(Source: Víkurskáli)
What we had?
The fish and chip, which cost 1,990ISK.
.
We were craving for some western food instead of the usual ham, egg, sausages we have every morning. I wouldn’t say the food is fantastic, but it is a decent meal that you could have to satisfy our cravings.
After our meal, we walked to the back of the bistro to have a peek at the black sand beach which we will be going over shortly.
Reynisfjara Beach
The world famous Reynisfjara shore, situated near Vik, a small village in Myrdalur on Iceland’s South Coast. It is widely known as the impressive black sand beach in Iceland.
Where?
Operating hours:
24 hours
Cost?
Free
To note:
What to see?
Black-sand:
The basalt columns resembling a rocky step pyramid, called Hálsanef:
Hálsanefshellir Cave
Stunning view of the black sand beach. However, you will see people walking so close to the sea. Our tour guide told us that it is dangerous to walk near the sea coast, even though the weather looks good, and the sea is calm. Please bear in mind this is nothing similar to our Sentosa beach, where you can swim and build sand castles. Therefore, I am wondering how cold will the sea water be, um…I would choose not risk my life.
This place is dangerous yet beautiful:
The basalt sea stacks are known as Reynisdrangar.
We spent an hour and a half walking around taking photos. The wind here is so strong until the sand was being blown up. Hence, if you are walking against the wind, just be careful of getting the sand into your eyes. If you are on self-drive, it will be great to catch the sunset here.
Eldhraun lava field
Before heading back to our hotel for the night, we had a brief stop here. Let’s take some photos~
Where?
It is visible once you exit Vik, and it’s spread across the whole lava field.
Things to note:
Do not walk on the moss.
Note: Moss can be easily damaged and potentially irreparable. Hence, moss areas are sensitive, and damage caused by footprints and tire marks can take a very long time to heal.
Please remember to stay off the cordoned area. Walking off the designated trail or off-road driving just to have a closer look at the moss is a Big NoNo, these warnings and rules exist for a reason.
Viewing point:
That ended our day on the south shore, we covered lots of places today. The most impressive place of the day would be the stunning view at Reynisfjara Beach.
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