{"id":2176,"date":"2020-10-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/camperstories\/the-best-things-in-life-are-wild\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T06:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T06:32:11","slug":"the-best-things-in-life-are-wild","status":"publish","type":"camperstories","link":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/de\/camperstories\/the-best-things-in-life-are-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Things in Life are Wild"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>&#8220;The best and<strong> most beautiful things<\/strong> in the world cannot be<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>seen or even touched\u00a0<\/em><em>&#8211; they must be <strong>felt<\/strong>&#8220;<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">Helen Keller<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Nevertheless, here are the photos and memories of all moments we were able to see, feel and touch in Iceland during our road trip.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">________________________________________________________________________<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Luke and I planned a strong 6 days leading up to our Iceland trip, this included running a marathon, moving in together and job interviews, followed by a &#8216;relaxing&#8217; hop over to Iceland. The concept of a relaxing adventure holiday vanished when we almost missed our train and then almost missed our flight too. Our ability to coordinate our lives and finally make it to Iceland seemed to be a miracle and one we were ready to fully embrace.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-best-iceland-trip.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 515px; height: 340px;\" title=\"Iceland map\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/an-iceland-adventure.jpg\" alt=\"Iceland map\" width=\"960\" height=\"635\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 197px; height: 340px;\" title=\"Bianca and Luke\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-best-iceland-trip.jpg\" alt=\"Bianca and Luke\" width=\"332\" height=\"574\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We continued on as we had started our week at home: bold and optimistic. Therefore, we decided to do <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/the-ringroad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">route 1<\/span><\/a> (plus detours) in just 7 nights. In total we drove 2500km around Iceland. Yes, it was a lot of driving, but damn was it striking and even more so, a beautiful adventure.<\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Day 1 Saturday<\/span><\/h2>\n<div>Our adventure started Saturday morning. After a swift shop stop to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/campsites-in-iceland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">camper rental office<\/span><\/a> we rushed to Kr\u00f3nan budget supermarket to ensure we had enough food to maintain our hunger for adventure, and enough snacks for the drive. We wildly underestimated our wilderness appetite and had to stop a few more times. Still, one shop was still humongously cheaper than opting for eating out.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/drawing-on-the-ring-road.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 460px; height: 634px;\" title=\"Art from the road\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/drawing-on-the-ring-road.jpg\" alt=\"Art from the road\" width=\"464\" height=\"640\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/studying-the-iceland-map.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 356px; height: 634px;\" title=\"Map reading on the ring road\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/studying-the-iceland-map.jpg\" alt=\"Map reading on the ring road\" width=\"539\" height=\"960\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo Left:<\/em> A sketch from the first day driving when Luke\u2019s face had a consistently confused\/WTF look on it, whilst learning to drive on the other side of the road. \u00a0Meanwhile, I\u2019m happily smiling out the window. A pretty accurate representation of our roles.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>Photo right:<\/em> Luke\u2019s real confused face seen in action.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Our first stop, like most tourists, was Silfra. For the most part, we were not sure what to expect when we got to there. I imagined massive tectonic plates tearing apart in front of our eyes, whilst Luke just tried to stay on the right\/wrong side of the road. Despite not seeing the world being dramatically torn apart in action, we were overwhelmed by the scenery. As we were slightly geographically challenged, following the herds of cars worked out well. Initially we wanted to scuba dive there, but given the latest law changes, there were several restrictions for divers and so we were unable to. We considered snorkeling, but our minds were changed by the ability to see straight down to the bottom just from standing at the side. Luke\u2019s words were \u2018how different it be from just laying in the water with your head down?\u2019.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/hiking-around-thingvellir.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 398px; height: 224px;\" title=\"\u00deingvellir hiking\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/hiking-around-thingvellir.jpg\" alt=\"\u00deingvellir hiking\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/summer-weather-in-iceland.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 337px; height: 224px;\" title=\"\u00deingvellir\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/summer-weather-in-iceland.jpg\" alt=\"\u00deingvellir\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo: <\/em>The weather was unexpectedly hot, so I decided to wear my jacket the most convenient hands-free way (as is popular among children). Luke laughed at me for about 5 minutes before being converted to my childish ways.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/silfra-gorge.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"\u00deingvelliir fissue\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/silfra-gorge.jpg\" alt=\"\u00deingvelliir fissue\" width=\"875\" height=\"583\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/divers-platform-in-silfra.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 656px;\" title=\"The divesite Silfra\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/divers-platform-in-silfra.jpg\" alt=\"The divesite Silfra\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo 1<\/em>: Silfra and the tectonic plates. Photo 2: Where the snorkelers enter.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Driving along the merry <span style=\"color: #000000;\">roads of Iceland<\/span>, the spectacles of Geysir appeared. Having only ever witnessed the saucepan boiling spilling over with the lid still on, the eruptions out of the earth were mind-blowing. Yet for those who are competent in the kitchen, I\u2019m sure it was incredible too of course. As tempting as it was to touch the hot water bubbling in the area, there was a gentle reminder that the nearest hospital 62km, which was a good motivator to stay clear. So we did. We took a photo each. Each photo accompanies an awkward 5-10minutes of waiting and looking like a bit of a muppet.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/waiting-for-geysir.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 1310px;\" title=\"Waiting for Strokkur to erupt\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/waiting-for-geysir.jpg\" alt=\"Waiting for Strokkur to erupt\" width=\"641\" height=\"960\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo: <\/em>The awkward 5-10 minutes of waiting with a camera pointed at the tourist in front of the pending water eruption.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We made sure to put our cameras away too, to appreciate the magnitude of the incredible nature erupting out of the grounds in front of our eyes. Surprisingly, rain gear was not essential. We merely stank of rotten egg for the rest of the day, but figured we probably didn\u2019t smell much better prior to the Geysir visit anyway.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/yay-geysir-erupting.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 430px; height: 644px;\" title=\"Yaaay. It's erupting\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/yay-geysir-erupting.jpg\" alt=\"Yaaay. It's erupting\" width=\"641\" height=\"960\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/strokkur.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 430px; height: 644px;\" title=\"Strokkur blowing\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/strokkur.jpg\" alt=\"Strokkur blowing\" width=\"641\" height=\"960\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo left:<\/em> Bianca with Geysir explosion<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>Photo right: <\/em>Geysir explosion without Bianca being a tourist and blocking the view.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-hot-and-beautiful-pot-beside-geysir.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 584px;\" title=\"A hot pot in Geysir area\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-hot-and-beautiful-pot-beside-geysir.jpg\" alt=\"A hot pot in Geysir area\" width=\"2112\" height=\"1410\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo:<\/em> A bit further up at Geysir.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Just down the road we found ourselves at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/waterfalls-in-iceland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">magnificent Gullfoss<\/span><\/a>. We were lucky with the weather and managed to get a few rainbow photos. We did bring waterproofs here, although it wasn\u2019t massively essential. The noise and the image of the gallons of water storming past our eyes at the waterfall were impressive. The gift shop, whilst having a variety of interesting merchandise, was expensive but a convenient toilet stop. From shirts to canned mountain air, they&#8217;ve got ludicrously expensive souvenirs covered!<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/icelandic-mountain-air.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 267px; height: 400px;\" title=\"Icelandic air on sale\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/icelandic-mountain-air.jpg\" alt=\"Icelandic air on sale\" width=\"1880\" height=\"2816\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-fall-gullfoss-1.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 599px; height: 400px;\" title=\"Gullfoss waterfall\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-fall-gullfoss-1.png\" alt=\"Gullfoss waterfall\" width=\"2816\" height=\"1880\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Photo left:<\/em> Canned Iceland air \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<em>Photo Right:<\/em> Gullfoss in all its glory<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We ended our day in Sk\u00f3gafoss and stayed the night here. The campsite is a parking lot with a brilliant view of the waterfall. Although the facilities were minimal, we didn\u2019t expect much, and so we were content with our choice of location for our first night in the camper, which was now our home. An Icelandic lady came to \u2018collect\u2019 from us- what exactly, we didn\u2019t know and our faces looked slightly concerned. Luckily, it was just the fee for the campsite, which we were surprised to be able to pay by card. Only once during our whole trip did we have to use cash. Cash is certainly not King in Iceland, more like the servant that occasionally gets called upon.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/camper-van-bed.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 421px; height: 316px;\" title=\"The Camper van bed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/camper-van-bed.jpg\" alt=\"The Camper van bed\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/camper-van-dinner-2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 421px; height: 316px;\" title=\"Camping dinner by the camper\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/camper-van-dinner-2.jpg\" alt=\"Camping dinner by the camper\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>For dinner we made penne pasta with canned mushroom + canned sweetcorn, Kidney beans, and beef stock. I&#8217;m not sure if it was a delicious as we thought it was, since we were very hungry.<\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Day 2 Sunday<\/span><\/h2>\n<div>The next morning we woke to the sound of Sk\u00f3gafoss outside. We swiftly made breakfast which consisted of porridge (water and milk\u2026 gotta save those pennies). Majority of our meals were the same combination of our previous dinner and this breakfast.<\/div>\n<div>Following, we went straight to Vik to take a closer look at the black sand beach. We pitched up our dining gear and had some stormy coffee and lunch here too. Despite the wind, once the hot drink settled in, everything was dandy.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/vik-black-sand-beach.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 584px;\" title=\"Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/vik-black-sand-beach.jpg\" alt=\"Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach\" width=\"1350\" height=\"901\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>As we drove towards Vik, I pointed out a bunch of cars parked up. We both dismissed the many tourists we had seen and assumed there was nothing there we needed to see. I soon realized that we had missed the DC plane crash site, which we had hoped to see. Our lesson here was: if there\u2019s a bunch of tourists parked up, go see what they\u2019re looking at.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-dc-3-in-iceland.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 584px;\" title=\"The crashed airplane in Iceland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-dc-3-in-iceland.jpg\" alt=\"The crashed airplane in Iceland\" width=\"2816\" height=\"1880\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo:<\/em> Tourists (including us) circling the mysterious looking plane.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>I was elated to hear that we weren&#8217;t going to gawk at an incredibly tragic site when I read that miraculously all the passengers survived this crash. Although it&#8217;s a 3-4km walk to the site, it was definitely worth it. I wish I had made sure to have peed prior to the hike. The walk there is totally flat and resembles a &#8216;moon meets Mars&#8217; setting; it required a space detour and Luke standing guard for me to be able to pee.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/from-the-rear-of-seljalandsfoss.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 584px;\" title=\"From behind Seljalandsfoss\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/from-the-rear-of-seljalandsfoss.jpg\" alt=\"From behind Seljalandsfoss\" width=\"2816\" height=\"1880\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Day 3 Monday\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/breakfast-of-champions.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 584px;\" title=\"Breakfast of Champions\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/breakfast-of-champions.jpg\" alt=\"Breakfast of Champions\" width=\"2816\" height=\"1880\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/vanlife-in-iceland-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 421px; height: 281px;\" title=\"Icelandic Van life\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/vanlife-in-iceland-1.jpg\" alt=\"Icelandic Van life\" width=\"2816\" height=\"1880\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/van-diary-from-iceland.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 421px; height: 281px;\" title=\"Van diaries from Iceland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/van-diary-from-iceland.jpg\" alt=\"Van diaries from Iceland\" width=\"1408\" height=\"940\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photos: <\/em>Stopped by the side of the road having breakfast, creation of make shift drying line and lunch making in progress.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We parked up on a parking spot on the road between the mountaineering company and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/gas-stations-in-iceland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">petrol station<\/span><\/a> to stop and make some breakfast. Rapidly other cars came to admire our beautiful breakfast view made up of glaciers and mountains. Although the quiet moments were lovely, we were equally entertained by all the visitors who gave us the nod of approval. One group of young American guys all wanted to have a picture together. We did want to offer to take it for them, but they had so much fun directing their own nature photo shoot. I would be lying if I said that we didn&#8217;t enjoy watching their inability to coordinate a group photo.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Soon after, we went out on a glacier for the first time. We had agreed to do one big tour as a part of the trip, as Iceland is so expensive we knew we wouldn\u2019t be able to do everything or even some things (probably just the one thing).<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ice-cave-tour-in-iceland.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 385px; height: 289px;\" title=\"Icecaving in Iceland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ice-cave-tour-in-iceland.jpg\" alt=\"Icecaving in Iceland\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/on-a-glacier.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 433px; height: 289px;\" title=\"Walking on glaciers in Iceland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/on-a-glacier.jpg\" alt=\"Walking on glaciers in Iceland\" width=\"2816\" height=\"1880\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo left: <\/em>Inside an ice cave on the glacier.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>Photo right:<\/em> Celebrating not being hit by the guides ice axe<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;\">and finding our way on a glacier where everything looks the same.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Our glacial hike was lead by a funny German turned Kiwi guide, whose main vocabulary included \u2018sweet\u2019, \u2018yeahyeahyeah\u2019 (said repeatedly without break), \u2018aw yeah?\u2019 and \u2018tikitiboo\u2019. He confessed a few times that he was lost and stated \u2018it all looks the same\u2019 on the glacier. I would argue that he was also slightly too liberal with the use of his ice ax, and swung it around at any given opportunity with tourists ducking out of the way behind him. Nevertheless, he was highly entertaining.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/glacier-hiking-in-iceland-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 584px;\" title=\"Hiking on a glacier in Iceland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/glacier-hiking-in-iceland-4.jpg\" alt=\"Hiking on a glacier in Iceland\" width=\"1408\" height=\"940\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo:<\/em> Ax usage in action by guide<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>As we survived the guide\u2019s over-zealous attitude with the ice ax, we decided to drive on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/jokulsarlon-the-glacier-lake\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n Glacier Lagoon<\/span><\/a>, not to be confused with one you leisurely relax in. As it was late afternoon, the crowds had vanished and only a few spectators remained. It was truly unique to observe the ice caps traveling with the stream into the ocean. Whilst sat by the rocks, one of the large ice blocks decided to flip over in front of our eyes to expose a clear, blue side of it that was hidden beneath the water. A little way down, we observed the rogue icy bits that traveled into the ocean- actually in the ocean. Some had failed in their journey toward the unknown, and washed up beautifully on to the beach.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/diamond-beach-in-black-white.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 874px; height: 582px;\" title=\"Diamond beach in south Iceland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/diamond-beach-in-black-white.jpg\" alt=\"Diamond beach in south Iceland\" width=\"1936\" height=\"1288\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/meditating-by-jokulsarlon.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 421px; height: 280px;\" title=\"Meditation by the glacial lake in Iceland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/meditating-by-jokulsarlon.jpg\" alt=\"Meditation by the glacial lake in Iceland\" width=\"1936\" height=\"1288\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ice-surfing-on-the-glacier-lake-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 421px; height: 280px;\" title=\"Playing in the ice\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ice-surfing-on-the-glacier-lake-1.jpg\" alt=\"Playing in the ice\" width=\"1936\" height=\"1288\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photos: <\/em>J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n Glacier Lagoon and the beach where some wash up<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We had been optimistic about finding alcohol so far, but with the monopoly system and strict opening hours, we repeatedly failed to acquire any.<\/div>\n<div>We ended day 3 in H\u00f6fn, a town I was excited to stop by not only because it\u2019s known to be a lovely remote seaside village, but I had read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/camp-like-a-boss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Walter Mitty was filmed<\/span><\/a> here too. We spoke to some local Icelandic young people, who said Walter Mitty big news in their very small town where everything shuts at 9pm. We parked in a car park overnight, which wasn\u2019t glamorous, but it was definitely an experience.<\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Day 4 Tuesday<\/span><\/h2>\n<div>We woke up in a H\u00f6fn car park, but drove straight to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/top-10-swimming-pools-in-iceland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">swimming pool<\/span><\/a> for a swim. There were a few excellent slides that we tried out, in between running around frantically in the cold. We did not attempt the ice bath; in fact we actively avoided it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We drove a lot today as we wanted to maximize our time in the north. We stopped by Sey\u00f0isfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur, as recommended by our new Icelandic friends near the glacier we hiked on. The drive from Egilssta\u00f0ir to Sey\u00f0isfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur was the foggiest and most intense mountain drive I&#8217;ve experienced. I think Luke shared similar feelings, though I think fear of crashing in the extreme fog probably added in to his mixture of emotions.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/seydisfjordur-church.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 420px; height: 629px;\" title=\"The church in Sey\u00f0isfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/seydisfjordur-church.jpg\" alt=\"The church in Sey\u00f0isfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur\" width=\"1674\" height=\"2507\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-life-of-walter-mitty-location-in-iceland.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 425px; height: 639px;\" title=\"Walter Mitty location in Iceland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-life-of-walter-mitty-location-in-iceland.jpg\" alt=\"Walter Mitty location in Iceland\" width=\"639\" height=\"960\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo left:<\/em> Sey\u00f0isfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur Kirkjan (basically\u2026 Sey\u00f0isfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur Church)<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>Photo right:<\/em>\u00a0Us being nerdy and taking photos which matched the movie Walter Mitty<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We went to hotel Aldan as seen in the movie when Walter has just finished his immense long board journey. I spoke to the staff there about the filming, one waitress didn&#8217;t know too much about it, but one waiter interrupted our conversation and proudly stated &#8220;I was here- and it was pretty cool&#8221;. He told me about he filming and when Ben Stiller smiled at him. I celebrated his experience with a big smile and I probably clapped too, but we both acknowledged that we were a bit nerdy and lame for being so thrilled that one human smiled at another. We heard many had attempted to do the long board scene. Emphasis on attempted.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Perhaps \u2018shamefully\u2019, Luke and I took photos similar to the Walter Mitty scene ones. We were comforted to hear that some tourists has even re filmed the scene, cried at the hotels new exterior colour as it no longer matched the movie. We suddenly felt less silly for our commitment to the movie. Regardless of Walter, the town is small and beautiful. We would definitely recommend going even if you&#8217;re not a Walter Mitty fan, as even on a wet and cold day, it&#8217;s beauty managed to shine through with waterfalls in the backdrop.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Unfortunately, my poor navigation skills meant that we missed out on the magnificent Dettifoss on this day and we continued North toward M\u00fdvatn.<\/div>\n<div>On our way to M\u00fdvatn, unintentional we stumbled across stinky and mysterious Hverir. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before. It was like walking among tiny mountains erupting with steam at incredible speed. This unplanned visit highlighted Iceland\u2019s wild and active nature for us.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/hverir-in-myvatn-municipality.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 584px;\" title=\"Hverir\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/hverir-in-myvatn-municipality.jpg\" alt=\"Hverir\" width=\"2816\" height=\"1880\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>M\u00fdvatn is overwhelmingly raw. It&#8217;s nature stripped to its most original. You can see cracked lava fields and it feels like driving through a movie set based on mars. We ended our day in a small carved out parking spot by a lake in M\u00fdvatn where we made a fishy dinner from a can we found in B\u00f3nus, in combination with a long desired cup of red wine.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dinner-by-myvatn.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 1166px;\" title=\"Camper cooknig\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dinner-by-myvatn.jpg\" alt=\"Camper cooknig\" width=\"909\" height=\"1212\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo: <\/em>Dinner by the side of the road in M\u00fdvatn<\/div>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Day 5: Wednesday\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<div>It was a tough start to the morning. We woke up listening to the relentless wind, hand in hand with the rain, beating against our camper. It made it hard to get out of our sleeping bags, so we decided to finish watching our film before embarking on the world outside. Eventually, we did\u2026 below you can see the photographic evidence.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/camping-lake-myvatn.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 874px; height: 492px;\" title=\"M\u00fdvatn Campsite\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/camping-lake-myvatn.jpg\" alt=\"M\u00fdvatn Campsite\" width=\"1334\" height=\"750\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The wind in M\u00fdvatn was so intense that we had to be careful with opening our car doors, as they could blow off. As a result of the rain, we used a back up breakfast plan and had banana and Nutella on bread whilst being rocked gently by the furious wind outside.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We got to the nature baths an hourly early, so decided to use our time wisely and went to explore Krafla. We didn\u2019t realize that going to the crater was equivalent to visiting the North Pole. I was so wrapped up it was almost impossible to identify me in the photo below.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/krafla-frozen.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 874px; height: 582px;\" title=\"Krafla crater\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/krafla-frozen.jpg\" alt=\"Krafla crater\" width=\"1936\" height=\"1288\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We eventually managed to battle through the wind from the car park to the nature baths front door. We were delighted with the view of the lagoon and even more thrilled to hear it was half price due to the wind. &#8216;A little wind&#8217; we thought &#8216;won&#8217;t bother us&#8217;. But being persistently whipped by eggy smelling water whilst sitting in a cold, debatable warm, lagoon, did bother us. Yet, like all the other tourists who had also paid half price, we put on a brave face and endured the stormy bath with occasional sprints to the steam room.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/half-price-lagoon.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 478px;\" title=\"The other Blue Lagoon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/half-price-lagoon.jpg\" alt=\"The other Blue Lagoon\" width=\"628\" height=\"343\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Following our troublesome experience in the lagoon, we drove toward Akureyri but not without stopping at Go\u00f0afoss waterfall. It\u2019s incredible how many waterfalls there are in Iceland and how each one is breath taking.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-fall-godafoss.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 874px; height: 583px;\" title=\"Go\u00f0afoss - Waterfall of the gods\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-fall-godafoss.jpg\" alt=\"Go\u00f0afoss - Waterfall of the gods\" width=\"2599\" height=\"1735\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo: <\/em>Go\u00f0afoss<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>As we were still frozen to the core, we went to cafe G\u00f6tubarinn in Akureyri to warm up. I asked the lovely Icelandic waitress for some advice about what cake we should have, as we hadn&#8217;t eaten out yet. She told me that rhubarb was very popular in Iceland, so we went with that assuming Icelanders might have nailed any dish with rhubarb, if they like it so much. It was delicious.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/lunch-in-akureyri.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 874px; height: 492px;\" title=\"Lunch in Akureyri\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/lunch-in-akureyri.jpg\" alt=\"Lunch in Akureyri\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo: <\/em>Hanging out in G\u00f6tubarinn and enjoying some rhubarb cake (shared between us).<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>After spending the evening in Akureyri, we decided to head West as there was a bunch of stuff we wanted to see there. Luke was feeling fresh, so I made us two cheese sandwiches and wrapped them in foil as our dinner for our long journey. Things did not quite go as planned.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>After approximately 40 minutes of driving, it started to snow a little. We thought &#8216;hey this is great, look how beautiful everything is with a drizzle of snow&#8217;. Rapidly, the drizzle of snow turned into a full blown snow storm and we were stuck on a steep mountain road in the middle of it. What&#8217;s more, we had summer tires on, whilst trucks and other well prepared cars, ploughed straight past us with their winter tires. We were not the only ones taken by surprise. An Icelandic man in front of us started reversing his car down the mountain, in order to get to a platform where he could turn his car around safely and go back down. Although he was able to reverse down relatively swiftly, as inexperienced van drivers, we were unable to follow his speed. Our method resorted to being my head stuck out the passenger window, straight into the snow storm, yelling &#8216;left&#8217;, &#8216;right&#8217; or \u2018straight\u2019.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/driving-a-camper-in-snow.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 579px;\" title=\"Driving a camper van in snow\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/driving-a-camper-in-snow.jpg\" alt=\"Driving a camper van in snow\" width=\"960\" height=\"635\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo:<\/em>\u00a0An illustration accurately representing the snowstorm event.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>After over an hour of project reverse-down-a-mountain-mid-snowstorm, we made it to the platform and turned our van around. We were defeated by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/iceland-weather\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Iceland\u2019s unpredictable weather<\/span><\/a>, but incredibly happy to be out of the storm&#8230;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On our way down (forward- no longer reversing), we saw a car in a ditch as a result of the storm. No one was in the car, but it definitely wasn&#8217;t there when we were heading up earlier. It really brought home how vulnerable we are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/how-to-drive-in-iceland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">driving in Iceland<\/span><\/a> and how careful we have to be. Luckily, Luke and I were really supportive of each other. When one started to loose hope and feel like we were going to die in a snowstorm, the other would be positive. We switched roles a few times.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/snow-on-the-road-trip.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 606px;\" title=\"Unexpected snow on the Ring road\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/snow-on-the-road-trip.jpg\" alt=\"Unexpected snow on the Ring road\" width=\"2293\" height=\"1588\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photos:<\/em> Left photo shows when the situation was becoming a bit sticky. Right top photo shows Luke blissfully unaware of the situation we are about to land ourselves in. Bottom right shows the Icelandic man reversing down the mountain.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Luke became obsessed with checking the road traffic updates after this event. We went to sleep in a car park by the seaside in Akureyri by about midnight. We were too tired to celebrate with a cider as we had planned, but felt the reward just from tucking in to our sleeping bags. Luke also asked if we could consider a warmer holiday next time.<\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Day 6 Thursday<\/span><\/h2>\n<div>Luke went for a 30 minute run, but the prospect of going for a run in the cold and to return to no shower, did not appeal to me. I phoned my cousin in Australia over the free camper Wi-Fi and updated her on our adventures. When Luke returned we drove to a petrol station, pumped up our tires, washed the camper and hoovered it throughout. It was free and took about 5-10 minutes between us. Definitely worth looking after the little guy considering how much we were using it. I also enjoyed posing for the photo, so there\u2019s that.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/washing-the-camper.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 874px; height: 492px;\" title=\"Camper van wash\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/washing-the-camper.jpg\" alt=\"Camper van wash\" width=\"1334\" height=\"750\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We phoned up the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.road.is\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">road traffic people<\/span><\/a>, they said it was not safe for us to go west using route 1 (the Ring road) if we had summer tyres and offered an alternative route. I phoned our rental company in Reykavik, they were so helpful and sympathetic with our situation and confirmed our alternative seaside route too. I have to say, it was a stunning route and we were grateful for the snowstorm leading us to it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/scenes-from-the-roadtrip-around-iceland.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 665px;\" title=\"Scenes from the Ring road\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/scenes-from-the-roadtrip-around-iceland.jpg\" alt=\"Scenes from the Ring road\" width=\"2066\" height=\"1569\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photos:<\/em> Images taken from our alternative route<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We mad a quick stop by the side of the road and got our porridge on before embarking on our drive. Along our drive we finally decided to stop and greet some Icelandic horses. We couldn\u2019t help but envy the view they had from their grazing home.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/hvitserkur-rock-formation.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 875px; height: 585px;\" title=\"Hv\u00edtserkur\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/hvitserkur-rock-formation.jpg\" alt=\"Hv\u00edtserkur\" width=\"1358\" height=\"907\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Photo:<\/em> Hv\u00edtserkur<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>As anyone can imagine, this day involved particularly excessive driving. So we decided to do some equally excessive sightseeing following our giant rock visit. One of our stops was the giant rock in the ocean, Hv\u00edtserkur. We lunch by the top of the cliff while a bus of tourists ran down to take photos and admire the old thing. By the time we got down there, it was empty. So we took this photo on a timer. As the timer is only 10 seconds standard, I sprinted back to the rock for this photo, which is why Luke looks a bit overwhelmed with his arms to the side. We would have stayed for the lava-tube-cave experience, but by this point we had to make choices regarding our budget and it just didn\u2019t qualify.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We stopped by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/hot-springs-in-iceland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Grj\u00f3tagj\u00e1<\/span><\/a> too, a hot spring cave where you can actually bathe. We gave it a miss and so did everyone else we saw there. The cold wind and lack of medical support in the area is a good motivator to stay clear.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Nearby we found Deildartunguhver, Europe&#8217;s most powerful hot spring. It was cool but equally spooky to see boiling hot water flowing past us like that. Definitely was worth a quick stop to see.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/steam-from-deildartunguhver-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 246px; height: 368px;\" title=\"Deildartunguhver\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/steam-from-deildartunguhver-1.jpg\" alt=\"Deildartunguhver\" width=\"1880\" height=\"2816\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/deildartunguhver-1-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 551px; height: 368px;\" title=\"Deildartunguhver\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/deildartunguhver-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Deildartunguhver\" width=\"1408\" height=\"940\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Next stop was the magnificent Hraunfossar (below). We were truly astonished by how beautiful water can look when it streams through cracks of lava. Again, we got there late afternoon and it was almost just us at the attraction. My parents started wondering if we were the only tourists on Iceland when we sent them photos.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-fall-hraunfossar.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 874px; height: 537px;\" title=\"Hraunfossar waterfalls\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/the-fall-hraunfossar.jpg\" alt=\"Hraunfossar waterfalls\" width=\"1854\" height=\"1139\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We ended up in Borgarnes for the night. And stayed at a closed campsite with an \u2018honesty\u2019 box. We did admire the Icelanic folks honesty. We saw a girl jump of her bicycle and just leave it parked up outside the shop. A small population clearly has large benefits, especially in terms of trust.<\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Day 7 Friday<\/span><\/h2>\n<div>The next morning we headed straight for Stykkish\u00f3lmur. A small remote little seaside town, which features in the Walter Mitty movie (again). As I not only see many similarities between Luke and the character Walter but happen to love the film in general, seeing the place where the life changing moment for Walter happens in the movie, was really cool- in a nerdy way that I am reluctant to admit and seek help for. Although there\u2019s not much to see in Stykkish\u00f3lmur per se, the wind is an experience in itself. We found shelter from it to make our lunch, but found we looked very homeless. We titled the moment \u2018what paying a lot of money to live like a homeless person looks like\u2019 (below). We walked up to the top of a hill nearby to the lighthouse. The view of the town was beautiful.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/stykkisholmur-lighthouse.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 420px; height: 281px;\" title=\"The lighthouse in Stykkish\u00f3lmur\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/stykkisholmur-lighthouse.jpg\" alt=\"The lighthouse in Stykkish\u00f3lmur\" width=\"2039\" height=\"1362\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/lunch-in-stykkisholmur.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 431px; height: 281px;\" title=\"Campervanning in Iceland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/lunch-in-stykkisholmur.jpg\" alt=\"Campervanning in Iceland\" width=\"309\" height=\"202\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/kirkjufell-mountain-2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 874px; height: 583px;\" title=\"Kirkjufell\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/kirkjufell-mountain-2.jpg\" alt=\"Kirkjufell\" width=\"1962\" height=\"1310\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>We managed to also stop by the most photographed mountain in Iceland, Grundarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur. Despite being impressively pointy, the gloomy weather and return of the whipping wind, prevented us from being able to stay too long to admire it. The walk up to the waterfall next to the mountain was particularly entertaining and almost a matter of pure survival we were thrashed from side to side and left drenched.<\/div>\n<div>I cannot emphasise enough how windy it was on this day. We had planned a journey along the West coast, but the clouds were what seemed 2m above our camper and we were battling the wind constantly. Feeling disappointed and overwhelmed by our situation, we did what anyone would do, pulled over and took a nap.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong>Read more<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/snaefellsnes-travel-and-camping-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sn\u00e6fellsnes travel &amp; Camping guide<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Eventually we made it to Mosfellsb\u00e6r, not too far from Reykjav\u00edk, and stayed at Mossk\u00f3gar Camping site. Hands down our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/campsites-in-iceland\/\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">favourite campsite<\/span><\/a> of the whole trip. It\u2019s run by a half Danish, half Icelandic hipster who owns and runs the camping ground. His attention to detail and commitment to his site is evident and it was a pleasure to spend time getting to know him. Showering in an open air shower (just four walls, no ceiling), was an experience I was reluctant to embrace, but definitely enjoyed once the sun came out.<\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Day 8 Saturday<\/span><\/h2>\n<div>We spent the day exploring the wonders of Reykjav\u00edk, we couldn\u2019t help but feel slightly like travelling warriors after surviving what Iceland\u2019s roads had to offer and experiencing what the nature revealed to us.<\/div>\n<div>We went to a lot of souvenir shops all selling the same thing. Then we sprinted through a flea market to discover we had to interest in being there. But mostly we spent time in cute caf\u00e9\u2019s and walking around town people watching.<\/div>\n<div>The day was a bit of a daze and it felt strange to be around so many people again. We splashed out on soup in bread as well as hot dogs, which was as adventurous as we were able to allow our bank accounts to be in the feeding department.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/icelandic-soup-bread.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 254px; height: 380px;\" title=\"Soup bread in Iceland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/icelandic-soup-bread.jpg\" alt=\"Soup bread in Iceland\" width=\"1410\" height=\"2112\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/solfarir-sculpure.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"width: 569px; height: 380px;\" title=\"Sun Voyager - S\u00f3lfarir\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/solfarir-sculpure.jpg\" alt=\"Sun Voyager - S\u00f3lfarir\" width=\"2816\" height=\"1880\" data-savee-read=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>Photo left:<\/em> Luke with his soup bread and a beer, feeling happy and warm at last.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>Photo right: <\/em>The Sun Voyager by the pier in Reykjav\u00edk<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>This was mine and Luke\u2019s first trip together. We learnt so much about Iceland and each other during the trip and felt incredibly fortunate to have seen and felt the things we did during it. Despite the ups and downs experienced both as we learnt to tolerate each other\u2019s daily camper habits, but also as we leant to respect nature to another level, I can safely say we left as slightly different people to the ones that arrived (especially a lot more tired).<\/div>\n<div>In Iceland we found the best things in life are not necessarily free, as realistically you have to pay a substantial amount of money to get to Iceland. But truly, Iceland showed us that the best things in life are wild.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Thank you for having us, Iceland.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong>Read more<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/camperstories\/to-be-alive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">To be alive<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Happy Camping! \u00a0<strong>#CamperStories<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\">\u00a0Iceland Travel Guides<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/waterfalls-in-iceland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7132\" title=\"Waterfall Travel guide\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Waterfall-Travel-guide-300x100.jpg\" alt=\"Waterfall Travel guide\" width=\"434\" height=\"145\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/blog\/iceland-travel-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6908\" title=\"Iceland Travel Guides\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Iceland-Travel-Guides-300x100.jpg\" alt=\"Iceland Travel Guides\" width=\"434\" height=\"145\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2nF4Cit_rFY?list=PLY0x6RBrQZQehsisiKRbhesix8GiFcG2l\" width=\"875\" height=\"492\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0If you like what you see, please\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/CamperVanRentalsIceland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">subscribe to our\u00a0<strong>YouTube<\/strong>\u00a0channel<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A very personal CamperStories from the Ring road. A true adventure holiday around Iceland in a camper van and reenactments of Walter Mitty the movie scenes!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2308,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[184],"tags":[],"camperstories-tag":[444,474,457],"class_list":["post-2176","camperstories","type-camperstories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camperstories","camperstories-tag-camperstories","camperstories-tag-iceland-trip","camperstories-tag-the-ring-road"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Best Things in Life are Wild | Rent.is<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-video-preview:-1, noimageindex, noarchive, nosnippet\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/de\/camperstories\/the-best-things-in-life-are-wild\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Best Things in Life are Wild | Rent.is\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A very personal CamperStories from the Ring road. 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