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Iceland will really knock you out – especially if you love Scottish scenery. A truly amazing, unique landscape, some incredible wildlife, and geothermal wonders.
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| * | A brilliant itinerary perfected over years |
| * | With an internal flight north over glaciers |
| * | All the key Iceland birds – including Grey Phalarope |
| * | Some of Europe's best whale-watching too |
| * | Staying at three bases, including Reykjavik |
| * | Blue Lagoon, Strokur geyser and cultural sites |
| * | And all when the sun barely sets |
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Three site holiday. Hotel accommodation. Weather usually mixed sun and showers. Short, unhurried walks but may cross uneven terrain
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Dates
| 25 June - 4 July 2011 |
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Prices
| £2795pp (£450 Single supp) |
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Leaders
| Simon Eaves & Mark Denman |
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Flights
| Iceland Air, Scheduled
Outbound: Afternoon, Heathrow-Keflavik
Inbound: Afternoon, Keflavik-Heathrow
Air Iceland, Scheduled (internal flight)
Outbound: Reykjavik-Akureyri |
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Day 1
| Fly to Keflavik, transfer to Reykjavik, flight to Akureyri, 1½ hour transfer to Hotel Reynihlid, Myvatn - 4 nights |
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Days 2-4
| Lake Myvatn area |
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Day 5
| Drive to Snæfellsnes Peninsula Hotel Olafsvik, Olafsvik - 3 nights |
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Days 6-7
| Snæfellsnes area |
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Day 8
| Transfer, via ‘Golden Circle’ during day, to Hotel Baron, Reykjavik - 2 nights |
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Weather
| Sun & showers (8°-18°C), can often be warm but wind chill & showers are also likely |
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Walking
| Some short easy path walks, two on cliff tops |
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Meals
| All included from dinner on Day 1 to lunch on Day 10 |
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Insects
| We’re not in areas with biting insects, but non-biting Black flies can be numerous on Lake Myvatn shores |
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Accom
| Twin & single rooms, all ensuite |
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Group
| 12 |
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Boats
| Weather dependent - Husavik trip is close inshore, Flatey trip goes further offshore |
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1-4
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Unlike many other company's tours, a flight over glaciers to Akureyri awaits after we arrive at Reykjavik. This takes us to the north where we drive to Lake Myvatn, a green oasis amidst a compelling 360° view of extinct volcanoes and faraway glaciers - all when the sun barely sets!
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In the crystal-clear water Barrow's Goldeneye dive and Lake Myvatn translates as 'Lake of the flies', but they are non-biting and feed the many birds - there are over 10,000 pairs of ducks alone! We'll see Slavonian Grebe, Red-throated Diver, Long-tailed Duck and Common Scoter, all quite close to our hotel, and often American Wigeon too. Great Northern Diver give spine-tingling calls, Red-necked Phalaropes spin at our feet and Whooper Swan nest. We've always enjoyed marvellous views of magnificent Gyr Falcon here too. There'll be Snipe, Whimbrel, Golden Plover, Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit, Short-eared Owl and, on the River Laxá, our first Harlequins. Beyond the periphery of the lake is another world, where delicate arctic wildflowers dot the volcanic deserts - in many places looking like the surface of the moon - lava crusts are broken like eggshell and we'll see boiling pools of blue mud and steam rising from the ground!
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Great Skuas nest on nearby coastal headlands where dainty Snow Bunting gather food and on one day we'll head to the small fishing port of Husavik. Here we'll take the first of the holiday's boat trips, heading out into the deep waters of sheltered Skjálfandi bay, with a snowy mountain backdrop. We should encounter Minke Whales, playful White-beaked Dolphin and a good selection of seabirds. There's a chance of one of the larger whale species turning up too.
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We’ll also have an exciting sailing adventure aboard Iceland’s only schooner, the beautiful Haukur. We’ll visit Lundey, the “puffin” island, as well as the more traditional whale-watching areas.
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5-7
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We have a full day driving west through an incredible landscape, past towering cliffs, waterfalls, tundra, and lakes filled with birds, finally past desolate sandy beaches to Ólafsvík on the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Here incredibly tame Red-necked Phalarope are on small pools, where we often find rare American shorebirds, or scarce Arctic gulls as well . . . and our backdrop will be the famous 1,446-metre high extinct volcano capped by the Snæfellsjökull glacier, the scene of Jules Verne's 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth'.
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A variety of large whale species can occur here including Sperm Whale and Humpback Whales, the latter renowned for their long white pectoral fins, tail flukes and occasionally their spectacular behaviour. Seabirds here should include Great and Arctic Skua, but it’s at the headland of Öndverðarnes that we’ll see Puffin, Kittiwake, Razorbill and one of our targets - the localised Brünnich’s Guillemot. We'll look out to sea from the rocks where we have often found some of the regular Killer Whales that patrol these shores – exciting black-and-white marine wolves - with nesting Purple Sandpipers to be found amidst the lava fields, and occasionally Arctic Fox too.
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Farther east along the shore, deep fjords such as Grundarfjorður carve up the coastline, where Glaucous Gull are common-place - they nest high up on the green mountain slopes - Redwing and Icelandic Redpoll occur and Eider flocks ride the waves. Even rare King Eider can occasionally be found - there's so much to fit in here!
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We'll also take a boat trip from Stykkishólmur amongst the basalt islands of Breðiafjorður to reach Flatey Island, seeing nesting seabirds such as Shag and Kittiwake. A few pairs of scarce, elusive, colourful Grey Phalarope nest here, and there’s a chance as well to watch for nesting White-tailed Sea Eagles.
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Rocks form weird pinnacles at the black cliffs at Anarstapi and Malarrif, where more Brünnich's Guillemot accompany Shag, Puffin, Razorbill and Guillemot on the dark ledges, whilst Arctic Tern, Kittiwake and Fulmar wheel in the air. Below us, where the waves surge, Purple Sandpiper pick amongst the weed and colourful drake Harlequins cluster on the rocks. Not too far away we'll also seek out cryptically camouflaged Ptarmigan amidst the lava fields cloaked in dwarf birch.
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8-9
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Driving south we make a journey through Iceland's famous 'Golden Circle'; thundering Gullfoss waterfall with attendant rainbows takes your breath away; the legendary geysir at Strokur sends steaming water 30 metres into the air; and tranquil Þingvellir by the river Öxará on Iceland's largest lake is beautiful. At Þingvellir the Alþing, the ancient assembly that made the laws of the land, was established around 930 and continued to convene there until 1798.
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Reykjavik feels like a metropolis after the wilds of the north, with a brightly-painted Old World charm, a stunning cathedral, quaint streets and town lakes that are home to Arctic Terns, Scaup and sometimes scarce wildfowl. We'll also be able to visit the famous Blue Lagoon, an amazing geothermal wonder where a swim in the warm waters is said to have health-giving properties, and the surrounding wilderness of moss-covered lava, where Snow Bunting pick for food, is an incredible sight to behold.
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On the low rocky Reykjanes Peninsula you can walk over a bridge that connects the European Asian tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate. Vents of steam betray volcanic activity, Arctic Terns are everywhere, Killer Whales are often seen, with Manx Shearwater and Storm Petrel possible seabirds. Out at sea Gannets sit on the offshore stacks, an overspill from the colony on nearby Eldey Island, the last home of the Great Auk.
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10
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Finally we catch a late afternoon flight home.
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Just some of what we hope to see...
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Gyr Falcon
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Red-throated Diver
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Arctic Skua
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Gannet
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Harlequin
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Ptarmigan
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Purple Sandpiper
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(American Wigeon)
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Red-necked Phalarope
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Long-tailed Duck
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Glaucous Gull
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(King Eider)
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Grey Phalarope
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Whooper Swan
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Icelandic Redpoll
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Minke Whale
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Barrow's Goldeneye
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Whimbrel
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Puffin
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Killer Whale
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Brünnich's Guillemot
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Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit
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Razorbill
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Humpback Whale
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Great Northern Diver
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Short-eared Owl
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Guillemot
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White-beaked Dolphin
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White-tailed Sea Eagle
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Great Skua
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Manx Shearwater
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(Arctic Fox)
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Slavonian Grebe
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Snow Bunting
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