On 21st October 2006, a party of 14 girls and 5 leaders made up the Cobham Hall Iceland Expedition team.  Head of PE, Miss Van Schalkwijk, reports on this exciting trip .... 

We flew out of Heathrow airport with Iceland Air and landed in Keflavik, Iceland.  The view from the aeroplane was absolutely spectacular as it was a crystal clear day and we could see for miles, looking over the barren moon like landscape of Iceland.  From Keflavik airport we caught a coach to the Salvation Army Hostel in Reykjavik.  At first glance Reykjavik seemed more like a small town rather than the capital city.  However as soon as the sun went down it turned into a bustling metropolis.  We spent our first night at the hostel and popped in to the local grill house for a burger and chips.

On 22nd October we boarded our own personal people carrier and headed off to Geyser.  Along the way we stopped off and visited Gullfoss which is Iceland’s most famous waterfall.  It tumbles down 32m into a steep-sided canyon.  Fortunately we caught Gullfoss on a perfect day where the sheer wall of spray created shimmering rainbows over the gorge.  A spectacular sight!

Geysir is Iceland’s most famous tourist attraction. Geysers are formed when geothermally heated water becomes trapped in narrow fissures. The water at the surface cools whereas the water below the ground becomes superheated, eventually turning into steam and blasting out the cooler above it.  At Geysir there were a number of little geysers that we could walk around and look at.  The super-active geyser, named Strokkur, erupted every 10min.  The water shot up approximately 35m in the air.

 

Once we had taken as many photos as possible, trying to get the ‘perfect pic’ of the eruptions, we walked down to the campsite which was 100m from the geothermal pools.  We set up camp, had dinner, and got ready for bed rather quickly as the icy winds were picking up and the sun was setting bringing in the below freezing temperatures!

23rd October: An extremely fresh morning got us into the heated coach at lightning speed, which took us to our next destination - Skaftafell National Park. Skaftafell is an oasis wedged between sand and glacier.  Its has a unique natural beauty consisting of three very different areas: Skaftafell and Skeiðarársandur (volcano and outwash plain, formerly Skaftafell National Park), Lakagígar (crater area on a volcanic fissure, formerly National Monument Laki), and the glacial cap itself with a multitude of glaciers.  We spent three nights at a tiny guest house (our base camp) named Bolti, which was situated in the middle of the Skaftafel mountain looking out onto the vast floodplains.  On either side of the mountain were two enormous glaciers that protruded out.  Once again a spectacular view and geographer’s dream!

Over the last four days we took different day treks to the various sites (glaciers, glacier paths, waterfalls, river crossings, silt banks etc).

On the morning of the 26th October our leaders decided to add some adventure to our expedition, and we attempted another campout.  Protected from the icy glacial winds, they found us a sheltered spot in the campsite to set up camp.  Returning from a 7 hour trek, it was early to bed and early to rise, ready for our coach trip back to Reykavik the next morning.

27th October: Fortunately we just missed the incoming storms and managed to get safely to our Salvation Army Hostel, despite the gale force winds.

28th October: The girls had two options, shopping or whale watching. The group that set off whale watching managed to see 3 Minca whales and 10 white beaked dolphins. The girls not only loved viewing the sea mammals they also thoroughly enjoyed the huge ocean swells and found the boat trip the best 3 hour ‘theme park ride’ they had ever been on.

29th October: A brilliant end to the Icelandic expedition was our last two hours spent at the Blue Lagoon.  The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa hidden away among tortured black lava flows.  The milky blue waters are naturally heated between 37°-39°C, contrasting with the icy air temperatures.  Straight from the spa we caught the shuttle to Keflavik airport and back to England.

I felt that the girls definately matured over the week, and learned a lot.  I hope that this expedition gave them a lifechanging experience and that they will look back on it fondly.