96 wanderlust.co.uk March 2020
begantoform.Wavesofsilverydustwerecastacrossthe
nightsky.Thedisplaydidn’tlastlong.Isetmycamerastoalow
shutterspeedandcapturedgreenandpurplesmearsabovethe
oceanandhillsaroundHúsavík.Then,theyweregone.Whales
byday,northernlightsbynight.NotabaddayinnorthIceland.
Lightingthewayhome
Beginningthefinalleg,theWaycontinuedintotheTjörnes
peninsulaandÁsbyrgi,ahorseshoe-shapedcanyonknown
astheShelteroftheGods.HereIhikedupEyjanhilltolook
outoveranoceanofautumnalyellowbirchwoodland.
“Notmanypeoplegowhereyou’regoing,”guesthouseowner
SalbjörgMatthíasdóttirtoldmeasIstudiedmapsthenext
morning.Thearea’swaterfalls,especiallypowerfulDettifoss,
receiveplentyoftouristsdoingthe‘DiamondCircle’loop,but
fewgofurtherintothenorth-east.
AtthetipoftheaustereMelrakkasléttapeninsula,Ilurched
alongatrackofmovingstonesandabandonedfishingnetsto
thelighthouseatHraunhafnartangi,whichlocalssayisthe
northernmostpointonmainlandIceland(thoughRifstangi,
nearbyonthepeninsula,isalsomentioned).Wavescollapsed
ontodarkrocksasIlookedocean-wardsandwonderedhow
farfromwhereIwasstandingtheArcticbegan.Iceland’s
GrímseyislandiswithintheArcticCircle,butonthe
mainlandthisisascloseasyoucanget:around3km.
Drivingdownthepeninsula’seastcoast,Istoppedat
Raufarhöfn,Iceland’snorthernmostvillage,tolookatthe
blockyorangelighthouseandthenewlyconstructedArctic
Henge,aPagan-inspiredcircleofbasaltarchways.
TheArcticCoastWayfinishesatBakkaörður,butbefore
myfinalstop,Imadeonelastdetourintotheisolated
Langanespeninsula.Ispentmyfinaleveningdrivingalong
thecoastandthroughdesertedmoorlandtotheSkoruvikcliffs.
Fromametalplatformhighabovetheocean,Ilookedoutat
StóriKarl,acolumnofblackrockandhometooneofIceland’s
largestgannetcolonies.Noisyfulmarsandkittiwakesnested
inthegrassycliffs.Northerngannetstookflight,glidingover
whitefrothywaves,whileotherscameintoland,struggling
tofindaclearspaceonthecolumn’sroundedsummit.There
weretoomanybirdstocountonthere,littleclustersof
yellow-tingedadults,black-featheredyoungandchicks
withfluffygreydown.Forthefirsttimeonthistrip,I’dfound
apartofnorthIcelandthatlookedalittlecrowded.
‘Green and purple
smears were cast
across the night sky
above Húsavík’
Seeing the light
The Skarðsviti lighthouse
on the Vatnsnes peninsula;
(left) inally catching the
northern lights near Húsavík
after lucking out every
other night⊳
⊲