Day 67 to 69 A 2 hour ferry back to Denmark, stock up on
food, a midnight walk and then on to the 48
hour ferry trip to Iceland.
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| Faroes |
The long term weather forecast for Iceland is very different
from what we have been used to for the past 2 months..... 10 to 13 deg C is the norm accompanied by cloud cover, some
rain and an occasional sunny spell. Having the van’s new skylight
installed and returned to fully rainproofed is a definite plus however with 5 now in the van plus Jack and Katie’s
luggage some improvisation is needed to get all our stuff into the van. With
all the stories of just how expensive Iceland is we have also stocked up on
wine, beer and food.... 3 litre boxes, 2
slabs of Carlsberg and pasta and tins should we find ourselves without shops.
The rucksack is now packed full of stuff and with the kayak they
have been relegated to travel outside the van.....wedged into the cycle rack
and crudely strapped on so we don’t lose them enroute and this now gives us
just enough room to get all of J and K’s stuff in the back. I know there will
be many a time in Iceland when all of us will want to be in the van ( rain and
cold) so to its pretty important that we keep the tiny living space free from
luggage etc..
We said our goodbyes to the O’Briens and took an early start
from their house to make the 240 Km drive down to Kristiansand for the
lunchtime ferry back to Denmark. We then did the short drive to return to Lonstrup
and the campsite we were in just 5 days ago. The tent is erected as it is now
needed to sleep us all comfortably. At a real push we could probably all sleep
in the van with Jack and Katie in the roof, Susan and I below and Charlie in
his hammock above the front seats......the weather may well drive us to
do this in the next 3 weeks.
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| poised to fall into the sea - the house |
Still light at 11:00 pm Susan and Charlie went to be bed and
the rest of us walked out to the coast to look at cliff erosion and the houses poised
on the edge awaiting the next winter storm to be swallowed up into the sea.
Next morning we were back at Hirtshalls port for the 3rd
time in less than a week to join the most very interesting convoy of vehicles
ready to board the ferry to Iceland. A bizarre mix of 4 by 4’s –from the
conventional Landrovers to bespoke ex-military vehicles bought up and converted
into camper vans that I suspect could go just about anywhere......vehicles with
studded tyres, elevated suspension, spreader plates, additional fuel tanks and
spare wheels strapped to the roof, roof rack tents.....undoubtedly a small boys
heaven ( maybe not just small boys !). A
mutual appreciation society spontaneously formed as the assembled drifted from
vehicle to vehicle asking questions and taking photos. 
I also identified a must if you have a really ‘good’ 4 by
4...there is an unsuppressable need to climb onto the bonnet and then stand on
the roof to survey the area....it’s all a bit ‘look how big mine is’ but it is
interesting and it passes the time as we wait to board. 
To take your own vehicle to Iceland from the UK is not as
straightforward, nor as cheap, as it was 20 years ago. In the 1990’s we could
catch a ferry to the Shetlands from Aberdeen and then pick the Iceland ferry up which called in there on its
way from Norway. In 2014 the shortest and easiest way is to take the Harwich-Esbjerg
( Denmark) ferry and drive 150 Km up
Denmark to the ferry we are on now ....a 4 day journey from home and over twice
the distance it once was is the only choice.
It is going to get another step harder next year......The
Harwich - Denmark ferry makes its last
ever journey in September this year and when it does a 1400 Km drive from
Calais will be needed to further complicate the trip.
Coming to Iceland has been a lifelong wish.....volcanos,
waterfalls, glaciers, dirt roads, hot springs, geysers, proper wilderness and
real isolation; it has everything. When I was at Uni in 1985 we planned a month
long trip to Iceland for the summer holiday at the end of our 1st
year...... I bought the map and I even had our route marked up and mounted on
my college room wall. The cost of getting there put paid to the trip and we
took our bikes to Norway for a month instead. So to bring my own car and be
able to explore anywhere and almost everywhere without any real time pressure has been a life long
dream.
I know that an over-loaded
small camper van is not the vehicle to do exactly what I wanted to do back when
I was 19 but perhaps doing this trip with a family it is the right vehicle as
it will keep us away from the deep island interior where there will be no
campsites, showers, shops, electricity etc...
So there are just 3 U.K. cars on this ferry; well over half
are cars from Iceland and the Faroes with the bulk of the others from Germany
and Netherlands, they get everywhere.
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| Torshavn - Faroes - K and C |
Charlie loves the cabin with its ‘double decker couch,
ladders and TV’ - the rest of us think
of it more as our 48 hour windowless
cell. Jack and Katie sleep most of the first
afternoon whilst Charlie sweats it out with the other small kids in the caged
play pen......
Late in the afternoon of the 2nd day, after sailing for 30
hours, the ferry makes a short stop over at the Faroe Islands and we watch
about 100 vehicles off and on load. The approach into the collection of islands
is stunning, the mist hangs low over the hills behind the capital of Torshavn
which appears to have a roof of every colour.
It gets even better when we leave
as the Ferry runs up through the islands’ fjords – I have never seen such
perfect glacial geography so close up - hanging green valleys, vertical sided valleys,
corries, truncated spurs....there are few signs of inhabitation and it is so so
beautiful .
As we head to open sea and towards Iceland we pass the most
impressive of sea stacks.....We have booked 3 nights in the Faroes after our 2
weeks in Iceland – we have a treat in store.....
Day 67 Stavanger ( N) to Lonstrup ( Dk) 262 Km Total 10000 Km
Day 68 Lonstrup (
Dk ) to Hirtshals (Dk ) 27 Km Total 10027 Km
Day 69 Iceland
Ferry
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