South Iceland

My brother and I had a spare weekend, so of course we wanted to go and take some photos. Unfortunately the weather forecast was not great, but we decided to take a chance on the south coast. We stopped at the usual places on our way east to Fosshótel Núpar, where we stayed for the night, and then drove back to Reykjavík. For myself, I had only one destination on the agenda: the two waterfalls in Djúpá. These are fairly close to the ring road (but not visible from there), although it’s not obvious how to get to them. Hint: park before the old bridge over Djúpá (63°56'55.7"N 17°39'17.2"W) and walk northeast from there.

Kvernárfoss

Kvernárfoss is just east of Skógarfoss, hidden in a short canyon. Very easy to get to and much less visited than its more famous neighbor.

GFX50R + GF80 @ 63°31'43.3"N 19°28'49.1"W

Dyrhólaey

Home to one of the best view-to-effort ratios. Drive to the top and admire the endless coastline to the west , Reynisfjara, Reynisfjall and Reynisdrangar to the east, and Mýrdalsjökull glacier to the north. Straight south, on the other side of the world with no land in between, is the Antarctic. There’s a picturesque lighthouse, and of course Tóin, the gigantic stone arch.

GFX50R + GF80 @ 63°24'10.9" N 19°7'47.5" W

Reynisdrangar

At the east edge of Reynisfjara (Black Sand Beach for the tourists) there are three ancient volcanic crater plugs being continuously battered by the seas. The middle one is variously called Háidrangur (High rock) or Skessudrangur (Troll rock, of the female type).

GFX50R + GF100-200 @ 63°24'9" N 19°2'25.2" W

Arnardrangur

Just south of Hjörleifshöfði there are a couple of big rocks sitting calmly in the sand. Their origin is uncertain but perhaps the massive glacier floods from when Katla erupts have carried them down the sand? The larger one is called Arnardrangur (Eagle’s rock).

GFX50R + GF100-200 @ 63°24'45.7" N 18°44'50.8" W

Gufufoss in Djúpá

The name of this waterfall (gufa = steam) refers to the large amounts of spray and mist it throws up. It’s quite magnificent in good water, such as we had,

GFX50R + GF32-64 @ 63°57'29.6" N 17°38'26.3" W

Bassi in Djúpá

Just below Gufufoss there is a second waterfall with the unusual name of Bassi (bass?, like in a deep voice). It’s difficult to photograph, but the setting is spectacular with beautiful basalt columns flanking the west side.

GFX50R + GF80 @ 63°57'12.7" N 17°38'11.7" W