Iceland's Golden Circle
Day 1 in Iceland was a roadtrip around the Golden Circle, which is a popular travel route that ticks off a great sample of Iceland's primary attractions - Þingvellir national park, Gullfoss, and Haukadalur Valley, which is home to Geysir and Strokkur geysers.
We hired a 4WD so that we could explore in our own time (and let me tell you, driving on the right side of the road for the first time was an experience in itself for a bunch of Aussies/Kiwis).
Þingvellir National Park
Our first stop was Þingvellir National Park. Or if your Icelandic is a bit rusty, Thingvellir is also acceptable. The dramatic landscape of Þingvellir is due to its location on the border of North America and Europe's tectonic plates. In fact, it's one of only two places in the world where the earth exposes itself and you can see two tectonic plates meeting above the earth's surface - I know, how saucy! (the other site is in Africa, in case you were wondering).
FUN FACT: that means that even though Iceland is culturally part of Europe, it's technically half in Europe and half in America.
While interesting for many reasons, probably one of the most surprising is that this was the location of Europe's first parliament grounds, dating back to 930! Although there aren't really any visual remains (they stopped meeting in 1798 after all), sign posts still mark its location.
The national park is also home to Lake Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. You can take a walk up the boardwalk to go and admire the view.
Haukadalur Geysers
Stop number 2, the geysers at Haukadalur. As you drive in, all you can see is vapour rising from the ground. You are also hit immediately with the aromatic smell of sulphur.
There are two main geysers at Haukadalur. The key attraction is the great geyser: Geysir. So great is it in fact, that its name became the modern english word: geyser. However Geysir is also a little bit shy - we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse, but not fast enough to snap a photo.
Not to worry though because Strokkur, Geysir's more excitable little brother was happy to put on a more frequent show. As people gathered around the geysir, cameras at the ready, Strokkur would expel an impressive amount of thermal water that shot up into the air, only to be caught by the wind and soak all the unexpecting tourists who would run away shrieking. Even more hilariously, after watching this happen, we did the exact same thing.
Gullfoss
And last but not least - the Golden Falls, a massive waterfall located in Hvítá Canyon. One of the reasons it is so impressive is because it is actually made up of two seperate waterfalls - one on top of the other. Rainbows seem to simply be part and parcel of this incredible site. It's no wonder many Icelanders still believe in faeries and trolls.
