[ICELAND 2015] Day 4: South Shore Tour

I started off Day 4 with a cold - good job, body, good job.

Even with the cold, I wasn't going to miss the South Shore tour, because I've been looking forward to this tour when I read about the descriptions of the places we were going to.

Our tour was conducted by Reykjavik Excursions - to be honest I've had my reservations about the tour company because I've read a lot of negative experiences with them over at TripAdvisor. But since the tour company was already booked, there was nothing else we could do other than proceed with the trip.

Having gone on three of their tours (Reykjavik City Tour, South Shore Tour & Golden Circle Tour), my fears were unfounded. Most of the negative reviews were from people who were not picked up from their accommodation and the bus somehow missed them or something along those lines - the company stated clearly that you're supposed to be at the pickup point of your hotel 30min prior to the tour start time so there must be some kind of miscommunication for certain people. So yeah, a lot of problems in that regards, but thankfully we didn't have any problem with the company.

The guides on all three tours were great (especially loved our Golden Circle tour guide), and even though I don't usually like these type of bus tours, the tour company allowed us ample time to experience each sites. I would've loved a longer time to thoroughly see every angle of each sites, but then we wouldn't have been able to cover so much ground.

Our first stop on this particular tour was the Seljalandsfoss waterfall (foss - Icelandic word for waterfall), which is one of the more well-known waterfalls in Iceland. You can go and walk behind the waterfall, but beware: you will most definitely get wet lol. As I was nursing a cold in its early stages, I decided not to take my chance and stayed in front of the waterfall. (Takyah nak fefeeling Kajol & SRK sangat time winter aih - time summer boleh laaaa.) Plus it was already drizzling at this point of time, so there was no point of me getting even wetter haha.



Obligatory selfie :D (Pic credit: Anis BLA)
Look at how massive the waterfall is compared to the people standing on the LHS & RHS. You have to be there to experience the awe-inspiring sight.
Our next stop was Skógafoss, another famous waterfall in South Iceland. You will always see pictures of this waterfall accompanied by a rainbow (given the right timing). Luck was not on our side, as the weather was still pretty gloomy so no rainbow party unfortunately. Still, even the incessantly somber weather doesn't take away the beauty of the waterfalls we visited.




The next stop for the day was the Sólheimajökull glacier (jökull - Icelandic for glacier). Our guide told us that a couple years back, you would only have to walk a few hundred meters to reach the glacier. Now you would have to trek at least 15 minutes to see the glacier, which has been forming for thousands of years. Seriously guys, global warming is real :( I feel sad for our future generation if the current trend keeps on going.

For now, you still have the option of hiking up the glacier should you wish to do so (I opted for another ice caving and hike up the Vatnajokull glacier instead) - so do go and view the beautiful glaciers before it all completely melts away.









The Sólheimajökull is enormous - for comparison, look at the two people standing below on the RHS. And yet this glacier is eroding away at a rate which exceeds scientists' prediction. A few more hundred years and this glacier might have completely melted :(


Our hike to the glacier was accompanied by alternating hailstones and rain T_T I persevered because I really wanted to see the glacier, but after getting into the tour bus, my cold definitely got worse lol.

Still, by the time we made our way to Vik for lunch, I knew I had to have a rest. After eating some light lunch, I only had time to look around the area for a little bit before I decided to call it a day. For the rest of the tour (where they visited Skogar Folk Museum & the Reynisfjara beach), I slept inside the tour bus and I ended the day by going to sleep earlier :D;; 

And so I end this post with a view of the church in Vik.

Go to Day 3 (Snaefellsnes Peninsula) | Go to Day 5 (Golden Circle Tour)


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