Iceland: Day 16 - Along South Iceland

July 10, 2004

Dverghamrar ("Dwarf Cliffs") - peculiar twin columnar basalt cliffs forming a horseshoe shape. These were formed by wave action when the sea level was higher at the end of the Ice Age. The cliffs are a protected natural site.

Kirkjubæjarklaustur - the town church was made famous by the pastor Jón Steingrímsson, who in 1783 celebrated the "Fire Sermon" which halted the lava flow which threatened the area. The modern church stands slightly farther to the east and Rubby commented how ropes on the roof looked like you could climb it, which in fact you could. We tried to find the basalt "floor tiles" that the town is famous for, but to no avail. We stopped in town long enough to have a well-deserved meal of hamburger and pizza at a restaurant (We rationalized that since we'd been sleeping in the car instead of going to hotels, this was a treat sponsored by Rubby's parents... thanks Ma & Pa Neville! It was the best hamburger and pizza ever!)

Eldhraun ("fire lava") - the moss on the Eldhraun is very yellow when dry and green when wet. It looks like fields of sponges and contrast with the red/brown of volcanic pumice. Throughout the lava fields we occasionally saw pseudocraters as well.

Fagrifass ("Beautiful falls") - The map indicated this as a point of interest and so far the map had never failed us, but unfortunately the road was pretty bad and there were no clear signs for the falls so finally we turned back without ever finding them.

The stone cairns of Herjolfsstadabrot - A picnic spot along the ring road is covered with cairns of every size, shape and description. A farmhouse on this spot was destroyed by an eruption of Katla and it’s traditional that the first time you pass this spot to add a cairn for good luck.

Myrdalssandur - the flat plains along the southern edges of the glaciers are like sandy deserts. They are covered in glacier debris with little vegetation and subject to flooding from the glaciers. We had read warnings in our guide book about the sandstorms that can develop in these areas and how they can strip the paint off your car! Apparently traffic lights along these stretches would give warnings for when it was unsafe to drive but we didn't see any of these lights and signs along the highway indicated that recent efforts to seed these areas with lyme grass, mosses and lupines have been very successful in stopping the windstorms.

Hjorleifshofdi - Hjorleifshofdi is a freestanding, 221 m high hyaloclastite headland on the outwash plain Myrdalssandur. Hjorleifshofdi is a tuya - a table mountain that forms when a small volcano erupts underneath a glacier. The name tuya comes not from Icelandic, but from the Tuya region of British Columbia where many subglacial volcanic features have been described. This is where we slept in the car for the night, the thought of sandstorms still in the back of mind. We didn't get a sandstorm, but the wind in the morning did make it impossible for the female of the car to relieve herself which made her somewhat crabby for a few hours!

A waterfall in the horse-shoe shaped Dverghamrar.

Rubby plays on the basalt columns.

 
Between the desert sands of Iceland's glacier, it's refreshing to find some lush green grass and fairy-like landscapes.

The modern church at Kirkjubæjarklaustur.

This was a beautiful waterfall, but it wasn't Fagrifoss.

A deteriorating road and some ominous signage lead us to turn the Clio around and head back to Route 1.

Lava field cover the area from the Laki eruptions which during a 10 month period in 1783 poisoned about half of Iceland's farm animals through high fluorine content of the ash.

The good luck stone cairns for first time travellers in this area.
To keep the tradition going, the Ministry of Transportation even brought in piles of rocks for visitors to build cairns with!

The grasses keep the sandstorms to a minimum. The sheep seem to like it too!

Lupines have also been sown to stop erosion and have done exceptionally well in the harsh Icelandic conditions.

Our camping spot at Hjorleifshofdi in the middle of the Myrdalssandur.

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