After a busy day exploring waterfalls, we were up bright and early to get on the road. Our first stop of the day was a spot that despite visiting Iceland numerous times, I had never managed to visit before.
The DC plane wreck has been a popular tourist attraction in Iceland for as long as I can remember, but it really exploded in popularity after it was featured in a Justin Bieber video clip in 2015 (fun fact: I was actually in Iceland when Justin Bieber was there for filming and had the funny experience of overhearing Icelandic cafe workers in the cafe across from my hostel in Reykjavik chatting/complaining about how his security guard had demanded they close the place to other people for him – lel).
The reason I had not yet made it to this spot was because to get there required quite a long (and boring) hike and it would always have taken up too much time in the day; but now there is a shuttle service that runs every 30 mins (between 10am and 5pm) from the carpark directly to the wreck, making a visit there much easier.
Now, at 3000 ISK/$32 AUD/$21 USD this shuttle service isn’t exactly cheap, but for those who are time poor it is well worth the moolah – and when you consider the limited hours of daylight we had in January, if we had chosen to do the hike that probably would have been our only spot visited for the whole day!
After a short but bumpy ride we had arrived at the wreck! It was kind of crazy actually, when I think back to how different it looked in photos many years prior – there used to be almost no stickers!
During our visit we watched a French guy film what I think must have been a music video?…
I know that I have been taking pictures of myself all over the world since 2012 but I must admit, I admire the confidence it takes to do that in front of a bunch of other people.
Eventually the wing of the plane freed up and we were able to clamber around to get a few happy snaps – I loved how gloomy the day was, it made for such great atmosphere alongside the black sand.
Once the bus returned it was time to head on to our next spot – Sólheimajökull (also, I just wrote that name completely unassisted by Google or spell check, that’s when you know you’ve been to Iceland a lot, lol).
I had previously really enjoyed visiting this glacier because you are able to walk right up to it without paying for a tour. This remains true however it was quite a shock to see how much the glacier had receded in the short time since my previous visit (2018).
This was Ella’s first time getting up and close with ice like this – it’s safe to say that she was a fan.
Despite the noticeable recession, this glacier is still stunningly beautiful and well worth a stop on any Icelandic road trip.
Our last stop of the day was a little bit spur of the moment. Ella had expressed multiple times to me her interest in Icelandic horses and eventually stated that she would love the opportunity to ride one. Now, I am moderately scared of riding horses (have done it twice before, once as a child which scarred me for life and once in Far North Queensland which was still quite terrifying) but when I incidentally read about a horse riding tour on the black sand beach in the information booklet at our guesthouse it seemed like the perfect opportunity to face that fear head on – and delight my wife in the process!
We arrived to the stables a while before our tour which really eased my nerves, we got to say hello to many of the horses and give them pats. It was funny to me how much they reminded me of dogs in their mannerisms and I can’t deny that it definitely made me sad for a moment as my thoughts turned to my beloved dog son Wally. However, that sadness didn’t last too long as before I knew it we had gone through the safety briefing and were out on the beach on horseback.
They heavily discourage riders from having their phones out while riding as they (understandably) want your focus to be on the reins and keeping safe and in control of the ride. This means that I could really only take a couple of phone pictures at a rest point in the middle of the ride, despite the lack of good pictures, I cannot stress enough how much of a highlight this tour was – it was so much fun and not at all scary, by the end of the ride I felt quite attached to my new four legged friend!
This is the smiling face of a girl who left the stables and said to her wife ‘I wonder if there are Icelandic horses in Australia that we could buy’ to which I received quite the eyeroll, lel.
@adventurous_elle *they do let you take your phones on the horse riding tour but you cant actively have your phone out while riding #iceland #traveltiktok #traveltok #travelvlog #bucketlist #wanderlust
So, another amazing day in Iceland came to an end – make sure to stay tuned for more Iceland posts!
THE LOWDOWN
DC Plane Wreck shuttle service: We bought our tickets in advance through Icelandic Mountain Guides for 3000 ISK/$32 AUD/$21 USD
Sólheimajökull: A gorgeous glacier that you can get very close to without a guide. Despite the site itself being free to enter, the parking fee will set you back 300 ISK/$3 AUD/$2 USD
Vik Horse Adventure: A one hour horse riding tour will set you back 14,000 ISK/$150 AUD/$101 USD and I can highly recommend this tour! Note that riders must be at least 10 years of age and under 100kgs to ride, click here to learn more
Remember: Make the most of the daylight when travelling in Iceland in winter by driving to your first stop of the day during the ‘civil twilight’ hours and arrive by sunrise!
