After a wonderful night gazing at the stunning Northern Lights, it was an early rise so that I could go exploring the South Coast of Iceland and eventually make it to Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon.

Getting to Jökulsárlón from Reykjavik is far from a short drive! It can be done in a day, but if you aren’t hard pressed for time, doing it in two days is much more pleasant.

I was travelling through Iceland in September, given the time of year, it really should’ve been starting to cool down for the winter and the hours of sunlight should’ve been rapidly diminishing, but neither was the case. Unseasonably warm weather was upon me!

I was actually pretty unimpressed with this unseasonably warm weather – I had not left Australia – the ideal place if you like the idea living of living on the surface of the sun – for more warm weather! I wanted cold, I wanted rain, I wanted my nose to go bright red and numb from the chilling wind.

However, on this particular day, the warmth and sunlight ended up being pretty amazing, because when I arrived at the magnificent Skógafoss waterfall, this was the sight that lay before me.

I had visited Skógafoss before in January 2014, and during those months, this waterfall looked more like this.

What a difference a season can make!

I spent more time exploring the area and climbing the stairs running up the right side of the waterfall, which led to some pretty gorgeous views.

The drive to Jökulsárlón is long. It’s a whopping 370km (230 miles) and according to Google Maps – a 4hr30 drive, but I can guarantee that the drive would take you much longer than that!

Yes you have to factor in food and toilet stops, but what you also have to factor in is the photography stops.

You will definitely have the problem where as soon as you get back in your car and start driving again, within a few minutes you will be wanting to stop again to look at another gorgeous part of Iceland’s other-worldly scenery.

On a list of problems though, this a pretty damn good problem to have!

I have said it before and I will say it again and again. Iceland is one of the most physically flawless places you will ever visit. Around every corner is another waterfall, geothermal phenomenon, lava field, volcano and geological marvel just waiting to be explored.

The incredibly scenic drive did have a purpose other than just photography stops! I wanted to get to Jökulsárlón.

So what is Jökulsárlón?

Jökulsárlón is a large glacial lagoon situated below the Vatnajökull glacier, and is a direct result of glacial melt. In this lagoon, calving from the glacier results in short term icebergs. Most of the icebergs in the lagoon are melting very rapidly, which has created this incredible lagoon which in the not so distant past – did not exist.

I had certainly been spoiled in Greenland in terms of iceberg viewing, and I was nervous that the lagoon wouldn’t excite me as much as it would had I not just been in Greenland. That sounds crazy, but if you’ve ever backpacked through Europe or Southeast Asia, surely you’d remember how after a while you would visit a spectacular church or temple – which for any other person would’ve been extraordinary – and found yourself saying something along the lines of “it’s lovely but (insert name here) was far more beautiful”. I worried that this is what would happen to me!

However, I needn’t have worried, for that first glimpse of Vatnajökull was nothing short of spectacular.

A mountain of ice just appeared right before my very eyes!

The contrast of Iceland’s sparse earth with this pure white mountain leading up into the sky was nothing short of spectacular!

Sometimes the ice would seem to hide behind the mountains.

Other times it was just showing off with its beauty!

Before long we had finally made it to Jokusarlon, but that story is for another post and another day!

However, I feel like it is only fair to give you a little preview…

T H E   L O W D O W N
Getting to Jokusarlon: Drive the ring road south west from Reykjavik
Waterfall Heaven: There are numerous gorgeous waterfalls along this route including Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1 with 12-40mm M.Zuiko pro lens
Remember: To have a full tank of petrol and adequate supplies for 2 days on the road