Iceland: Day 14 - Skaftafell National Park

July 8, 2004

Designated a national park in 1967, Skaftafell was an ancient assembly site, first mentioned in Njál's Saga. Skaftafell is a masterpiece of seemingly impossible contrasts of nature. Towering mountains, imposing glaciers, gulches with clear brooks and beautiful waterfalls, birch woods, a wealth of wild flowers and luch egetation. The most majestic of its several waterfalls is Svartifoss ("Black Falls"), plunging over a wall of symmetrical columnar basalt that recalls organ pipes and which inspired the architecture of Reykjavík's National Theatre.

When we arrived at Skaftafell we set up tent in one of the fields (privacy is a thing unheard of in an Icelandic campsite) and made hotdogs and soup for supper. Then we decided to hike to Svartifoss and saw a few other falls along the way. One of these was Hundafoss, where travellers riding to their farms used to cross the river near its edge. When the water was high, dogs were known to be washed over the edge; hence the name "Dogs' Fall".

We played some Yahtzee before going to bed and would have fallen asleep quickly had a couple and their kids not arrived at 11:30pm and set up camp 2 feet away from our tent, waking the kids to have dinner and play games!

Gorgeous scenery on a gorgeous day.

An example of clear glacier ice from Jökulsarlón, the glacial lagoon.

The fog has rolled in quickly and this little iceberg is the only one we got a clear view of.

Rubby admiring Svartifoss further on.

Rubby examines the basalt columns - the curves at the top indicate the lava was still moving as it cooled.

 
The 'organ pipes' are huge... check out Rubby in the picture for scale.

Overlooking the Skaftafell campground.

 
Woolly Willow (Salix lanata), purple harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) and yellow Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum) manage to grow in the old riverbeds left from glacial runoffs.

 
Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) - edible but not so tasty
and Arctic Riverbeauty (Epilobium latifolium)

Rubby climbs up on the ice of the Skaftafellsjökull glacier tongue.

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