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Most visitors to Iceland are blissfully unaware of the fact that the popular whale watching tour boats they happily bundle onto in Reykjavik share a dock with commercial whaling vessels. The same dock that is also home to a popular eatery that serves fresh whale kebabs daily. Funny, right?
Or shocking?
Either way, a trip to Iceland [...]
Written by Travel News on June 14th, 2009 with
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Most visitors to Iceland are blissfully unaware of the fact that the popular whale watching tour boats they happily bundle onto in Reykjavik share a dock with commercial whaling vessels. The same dock that is also home to a popular eatery that serves fresh whale kebabs daily. Funny, right?
Or shocking?
Either way, a trip to Iceland is incomplete without a whale encounter of some kind. And so, with visiting relatives in town, I signed us all up for a whale watching, Gulfoss and Geysir express tour. Leaving Reykjavik at 9am and having you back in time for dinner (or, in our case, the televised spectacular that is the Eurovision Song Contest), it’s the perfect way to experience some of Iceland’s must-sees in a day, and to orchestrate that all-important appointment with Mother Nature’s largest mammal.
Our whale watching boat in Iceland
A shuttle bus arrived at the hotel at 8am to take us to our first destination – the ticketing office, where we checked in. From there we endured the only tedious part of the day – over an hour of ferrying from the ticket office to the whale watching HQ, to a docked whale-watching café boat where we awaited another shuttle bus, and finally to Hafnarfjörður Harbour, half an hour out of Reykjavik, where we could commence our adventure proper.
I’d be lying if I said the prospect of seeing a whale didn’t excite me. Because it did. But I was trying to reign in my antici-pation, lest it turn to antici-pointment. I knew how many variables were involved in the spotting of these ocean goliaths. The apocalyptic weather, complimentary seasickness tablets, and last-minute out clause didn’t look promising. In fact, there’s no other way to put it: the sea was angry that day, my friends.
Whipped into a frenzy by Iceland’s legendary winds, the water in Hafnarfjörður, allegedly much calmer than in Reykjavik’s port, tossed us about like crockery at a Greek wedding. Our vessel however was well stocked with all the necessary gear to protect us from wind and wave. Hoping for the best and suited up for the worst in heavy duty insulated coveralls, we ventured up on deck to watch for whales, dolphins and porpoises.
The first wildlife we spotted were groups of chubby puffins flapping vigorously out to sea, as well as flocks of kria, elegantly scouting for fish. An experienced guide had one eye trained on the water and a PA system at the ready for anything of greater significance. After 20 minutes of eager eye-strain, we were rewarded. “Eleven o’clock! Eleven o’clock! Harbour porpoises at eleven o’clock!”
I looked at eleven o’clock. I even checked out 10.30 for good measure. Alas I spotted nothing. Our guide, watching our fruitless rubber-necking reassured us; harbour porpoises are allegedly shy and easily missed. Shelving our collective disappointment, we headed further out to sea. Bound to be bigger creatures there.
It wasn’t long before the PA crackled to life again. “Two o’clock! Two o’clock! Dolphins at two o’clock!” We looked. And there they were. Five or so white beaked beauties dancing in the waves. It was unclear whether we were tailing them or they were hanging around for us, but either way they kept us company for a good portion of our journey, posing, and frolicking like seasoned pros.
Despite this captivating display, it was the headline act we were all here to see. Whales, be they blue, humpback, minke or orca, were what we hoping for. Perhaps the last-minute venue change confused them because they were a no-show. All our dedicated squinting was for nothing. And so we retreated with our heavy hearts and sea-sprayed cameras to the safety and warmth of the cabin below and headed for land. It is important to note that while there are no refunds for whale-less tours, the hot cheese toasties, on offer at 400 krona a pop, serve as a very decent consolation.
Wandering the great divide
Back on terra firma, we were driven to the tour office once more, where we were greeted by our affable afternoon guide, Erlingur. Our first stop was Þingvellir (pronounced Theeng-vetl-ir), where from the 10th century Vikings convened in a national assembly to make and administer brutal laws to govern their untamed land. Þingvellir straddles the European and American tectonic plates, between which lies a 7km stretch of no-man’s-land and the impressive Þingvellvatn (‘vatn’ meaning lake or water). Home to many varieties of fish including trout and four species of Arctic char, it is a popular fishing destination. After an amble down the tectonic divide and a few happy snaps, it was off to our next destination, Gulfoss.
As we rocketed through the lunar countryside we were kept well entertained by the charming Erlingur’s informative and humorous patter. As we passed through a sparse cluster of shrubs and small fir trees that allegedly constituted a forest we were even treated to an Icelandic joke: “What do you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest? Stand up.” We smirked and chortled and nudged each other in the way that people from countries with superior forests are want to do.
Next we passed by Laugarvatn, home to some wonderful natural hot springs and steam baths (see my Getting Soaked in Iceland blog for more information). Then we cruised by Mt Hella, an active volcano so named because Icelanders used to think it the gateway to hell. Fair enough too.
Upon arrival at Gulfoss (Golden Falls), we rugged up for the short walk from the carpark to the lookout point. The forbidding backdrop of volcanic planes hemmed in by the frozen tip of the Langjökull glacier was arrestingly beautiful. After a short break for victuals at a lovely lookout café (the lamb soup was sensational), it was back on the road.
The magnificent Gulfoss
Geysir was a mere 20 minutes away and our final scheduled stop for the day. Erupting in a searing column of super-heated water roughly every 4 minutes, there were ample photo opportunities… depending of course on the precision of your camera trigger finger.
Even more beautiful and other-worldly than the spraying jet itself was the enormous pregnant bubble that appeared on the water’s surface a fraction of a second before the watery eruption. Once we had thoroughly explored the area there was a final opportunity for feeding, watering and souvenir shopping and then we were Reykjavik bound, replete after a wonderful whistle-stop tour of some of Iceland’s most popular tourist treats.
Arriving downtown by 6pm, we decided to give Eurovision a miss and instead head to dinner to satisfy vast appetites stimulated by all that fresh air. After all, there was whale on the menu…
Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Iceland tours & things to do, from Blue Lagoon tours from Reykjavik to geysir tours to things to do in Reykjavik.
Written by Travel News on June 14th, 2009 with
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Read more articles on Tips and Tricks.
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