Akureyri
After we left our stay in Akureyri we took a slow drive around town. Akureyri was the country’s fifth most populous municipality and the largest outside the Capital Region. We drove to the harbour front and saw a couple of cruise ships docked there.
We drove to visit the church of Akureyri, a famous landmark in Akureyri. It was under renovation so we did not get to go in.
ReykjafosS
It was about a 102 km from Akureyri to Reykjafoss and took us about 1 hr and 15 min to make the journey. We were drove on Ring Road 1 for about 95 km till the town of Varmahlíð where we turned left on to Road 752.
Another 4.5 km on Road 752 we turned left onto Road 753 and 2 km later we reached a carpark. The carpark was on private land and there was a charge for parking our car there. Interesting there was no staff to collect the charges but an honesty box where users could deposit the fee.
There was a path leading to Reykafoss, the path was barricaded by a gate and the instructions stated was to keep the gate shut after crossing.
Reykjafoss was located in Skagafjörður (a fjord in North Iceland). Some considered it a “hidden gem”. It was a large falls but not as huge as the gigantic Gullfoss. The waterfall cascaded down into the Huseyjarkvisl River which flowed into the Atlantic Ocean.
Reykjafoss was indeed a pretty falls. It had several steps which allowed the water to cascade over several sections. We could only view the falls from one side as there was no path (within sight) to go to the other side. We read from somewhere that salmons could be seen jumping up the steps of the falls, but we did not spot any during our visit there.
Glaumbaer
Glaumbaer Farm & Museum was about 15 km from Reykjafoss. We were not very keen on viewing the farm or museum but still made a trip there as it was in the vicinity.
Glaumbaer was an open-air museum displaying a traditional turf farm and timber buildings showcasing 18th and 19th century life in Iceland. They were notable examples of traditional Icelandic architecture from that period.
Though we were not interested in Glaumbaer, many others were, as there was a surprising number of people visiting the farmland and museum.
Hvitseruk
Hvitseruk was our final sightseeing destination for the day and it was a 119 km from Glaumbaer Farm and the drive took us near to 2 hours. We drove on Ring Road 1 for about 1 hour and then turned right into Road 716 and drove for another 26km. Road 716 was not in “good shape”. There were some sections not paved (under maintenance) and we had to go slow.
We were at Vatnsnes peninsula to view Hvitseruk, the “Rhino Rock” but before we saw the rock we were swept away by the coastal scenery. It was stunning! The sky, the cloud, the mountain, the sea, the black beach, the green meadow, the cliff and the underlating coastline were absolutely breathtaking. How we wished there was an hotel here, we could stare out at this beautiful scenery for hours. It would be amazing to watch the sunset and rise at such beautiful place!
A short walk from the carpark brought us to a high viewpoint of Hvitserkur. Some said the 15m tall monolith/sea -stack looked like an elephant, some said a rhino and other even thought it looked like a dinosaur.
We were not satisfy with looking at the rock from the high viewpoint, the rock was too far for our liking. We looked around and found a steep and uneven path leading down to the beach. The path looked too unsafe but after deliberating and witnessing some brave young souls scrambling down the path to the beach, we decided to make the effort to go down.
It was not easy to get down to the beach but with slow and careful maneuvering we reached the beach safely. From the beach we also realised that there was a longer but gentler path down to the beach.
Hvítserkur definitely looked better from the beach/waterline! Through the years of erosion from the sea water, three large holes were formed through the basalt rock. We could see many birds nesting on the rock and the white patches on the rock were bird droppings!!
Our stay at Vatnsnes peninsula
There was an accommodation, Oscar Hostel just one km from Hvitserkur, unfortunately we were unable to book a room at the hostel as it was fully booked. Oscar Hostel would have been ideal especially for view Hvitserkur at sunrise/sunset.
We could only book a stay at Tjorn (next to Tjarnarkirkja church). Tjorn was 16km, 20 minutes drive from Hvitserkur Parking. The drive took us round the the tip of the Vatnsnes peninsula. The mist was rolling in and by the time we reached our stay it not easy to see clearly.
We booked a twin room with seaview, garden view and landmark view. Unfortunately from the time we checked in till the next day we checked out there was no view. The mist had descended and we could not see far at all.
The house was very cosily furnished by our hostess. Our room, the shared toilet, kitchen and dining room was lovely and large. Our only complaint was that our room was just next to the kitchen and our bedroom wall adjacent the kitchen cabinet wall. Later in the evening when we were about to sleep a group of newcomers came in and used the kitchen to prepare their meals. Every opening and closing of the kitchen cabinet door was a “boom” that vibrated loudly in our room!
We were able to cook a great dinner and a delicious breakfast at our stay.
