Iceland 4: Stykkisholmur - Akureyri 17-18 July

Humpback whale watching in Husavik

17 July
We headed west from Stykkisholmur cross-country on the gravel “F” roads, which were fine in the Duster, and less chance of police radar! Fun driving, and the usual stunning green scenery.

The white specs are swans!

Shipwreck, with Westfjords in the distance

We stopped in the small hamlet of Brodeyri (population 16) to eat our sandwiches overlooking the calm fjord

Shoal of fish provide lunch for gulls

And then around the Vatnsnes peninsula for seal spotting along the rugged F745

Icelandic horses are plentiful, and - yes - they do still eat them!

And then a stunning black sand beach with the bizarre 15m high basalt stack of Hvitserkur - that from certain angles looks like a dragon drinking!

Hvitserkur

Weds 18 July
After a comfy night in a slightly odd wooden hut inland from the peninsula, we had a look at the impressive waterfalls nearby

and then back onto the Route 1 towards Akureyri - with a few stops en-route to see the amazing 18th&19th century turf farmhouses in Glaumboer, plus the striking church.

This style of turf construction was universal in rural Iceland until 1910.

And then a quick dip in the amazing infinity pool looking across the fjord at Hofsos.

Having reached the northern capital of Akureyri at 4pm and found our AirBnB block of flats on the outskirts of this tiny ‘city’ - we decided to make a push that evening an hour+ up to Husavik as the weather was looking good for whale watching...

We grabbed a last minute deal with Gentle Giants, and set out into the fjord at 8pm with about 20 other tourists on an old converted fishing boat. The wind dropped, and the sun cast it’s light across the bay, conveniently highlighting the whales spouting 1000m+ away - so the captain could steer towards them.

Boat similar to the one we were on

Togged up in North Atlantic garb!

Puffins

We had a magical three hours with five or six different humpback whales surfacing, spouting, and then diving back down to feed., flipping up their tails in what’s termed “fluking” (the correct term for the tail).

First sighting from further way was amazing...