The morning of my South Coast Tour, I waited outside Hotel Holt for the Extreme Iceland bus to scoop me up. I had a rocky start to the day after I spilled a cup of coffee all down myself and on my notebook while I was trying to enjoy the complimentary continental breakfast. This unfortunate event sent me running back to my room to change while apologizing to everyone I passed for making a mess. I tried to salvage the outfit, but it was no good so I changed and hurried back downstairs to jump on the bus, still smelling a bit like coffee.
We had a relatively small group of seventeen people plus our guide, Icelandic Harrison Ford (aka Siggy), and everyone was chatting excitedly as we left Reykjavik. The landscapes we passed were otherworldly; scruffy green hills, golden fields for miles, mountains and ridges. We passed Icelandic horses (shorter and prettier than American horses) and tons of fluffy sheep (fun fact: there are three sheep to every one human in Iceland).
The bus stopped briefly for a bathroom/coffee break before moving to our first South Coast stop of the day: Seljalandsfoss. This gorgeous waterfall stopped me in my tracks. This is exactly what I came to Iceland to see and it hit me right in the gut. The waterfall cascades from a cliff into a small pool, with an inlet carved out behind it so it’s possible to hike all the way around the fall. Sets of stairs were situated on both sides that were perfect for photo ops. The view from behind the waterfalls was breathtaking. Jagged rocks led down to the pool where the falls landed, where it was possible to wade in a bit.
It was also very wet, and everyone came out on the other side a little damper than before. We were given thirty minutes to explore this waterfall and the area around it, which included a couple other small waterfalls and green grass as far as the eye could see. I bonded with a mother/daughter team from London during the first stop. They were from right by where I lived when I studied abroad in London, which gave us plenty to talk about. Making friends on the tour was really easy because we were all on the same small bus for the whole day, which was very nice. Of course there were some rotten apples in the bunch, but only a couple (I’m looking at you girl who ate a stinky sandwich on the bus and loudmouth that absolutely had to be the center of attention at all times).
Once we all piled back onto the bus, we headed to our next site, another waterfall named Skogafoss. While this waterfall is very different from Seljalandsfoss in appearance, it is equally as beautiful. Skogafoss is wider and taller, with a staircase snaking up one side that leads to a hiking trail (Laugavegurinn pass) that National Geographic named one of the 10 best in the world.
A rainbow stretched across the bottom of the falls, where a pool stretched over the rocky ground. There are three vantage points from which to see this waterfall: from the ground, halfway up and from the top. At the halfway point, there is a very small peninsula of land jutting out from the cliff, no railings, no safeguards. I have just a small fear of heights so it was a little scary on that ledge, but the view was beautiful.
At the top of the waterfall, there’s a barbed wire fence with a slanted wooden ladder to climb over it. This leads to the famous hike that goes along the Skoga River, where there are more waterfalls and lush green hills. The scenery here looks like something out of Lord of the Rings, it’s stunning.
I would love to come back and hike the trail; it was really tempting not to go off and let the tour go on without me. Unfortunately, I resisted the urge to split from the group and made my way back down from the top of the waterfall back to the bus. The next stops were going to be the fishing town of Vik for lunch, the Black Sand Beach and the Solheimajokull Glacier. Stay tuned for the second half of the South Coast Tour, coming soon!
Have you ever taken a group tour? Where at? And did you enjoy it?
entered the Visitor Center only to grab a map and hit the restrooms before we began our hike. Originally, we wanted to hike up to the Lodge first, to get some lunch and figure out which hikes we wanted to do. What actually happened was we wound up on the Wildcat Canyon overlook trail. The paths were muddy due to days of rain prior to our visit, and my Chuck Taylors proved to be a poor hiking footwear choice. Actually, my whole outfit was ill-suited to nature and now I know better. Please note that jean shorts are not a great choice for four hours of humid hiking through the forest. What can I say? I’m a city girl. Luckily, the scenery was so gorgeous that I soon forgot my wardrobe woes and was able to focus on the views. We reached the outlook and noticed there were people hanging out in the canyon below, basking in the sunlight and playing beneath the waterfall, with no indication of how they appeared there. I made it my personal mission 
for the day to be one of those people. The weather was perfect, and everything was so green and gorgeous. It was nice just to be outside. Eventually, we found a sign pointing us towards the Lodge. The area surrounding the lodge was crowded with hikers and overnighters, staying in either the Lodge Hotel or the cute little cabins in the same general area. The lodge itself was a stately and beautiful large, wooden structure. I instantly wanted to stay the night there. We decided to have lunch in the “Dining Room” instead of the small café in the lobby. The dining room was also very large, with an outdoor deck attached. It had a romantic feel with the dark wood, soft lighting, and large fireplace holding court in the back of the room. The lunch menu included comfort food entrees, salads and sandwiches. We both ordered the Illiniwek Chicken Sandwich. The waitress was not the friendliest person we’d met that day, but the
service was prompt and the food was delicious so we overlooked her surly demeanor. After lunch, I stopped at the front desk to inquire about vacancy and room rates. Unfortunately they were completely booked, but the good news is their prices are completely affordable with their standard rooms starting around $100 and their cabins starting at $125 (depending on the season). We vowed to come back and stay in a cabin in the near future. We hiked up to the park’s namesake, the actual Starved Rock, and the stairs up to the overlook were no joke. The view from the top was breathtaking (minus the huge dam that was visible on one side of the Illinois River). The path at the top of Starved Rock wound in a circle, through trees and wildflowers looking lush from the summer rain. We meandered back down the way we came, past other hikers huffing and puffing up the many, many stairs. From there we hiked up to the Lover’s Leap overlook, which offered an amazing view of Starved Rock and the river 
below. It was finally time to complete my mission of the day and find the way into the canyon that we had seen from the trail above. We found the path and made our way along the river to the canyon. We could hear its current visitor’s voices bouncing off the rock face in what could only be described as shouts of glee. When we finally reached Wildcat Canyon, it took some maneuvering to get over to the waterfall, through the water and mud. Once we were finally in the main clearing, I took my shoes off and stuck my feet in the water. It was cloudy with the sand beneath, but cold and refreshing. The waterfall was gorgeous; it flowed into a small pool teaming with happy little hikers. Though the area was crowded, there was a solidarity among the visitors in the canyon; everyone was admiring the view. It was hard to leave such a beautiful place, but it was about that time to head back to the visitors center. Overall, we hiked about five miles through the forest, up and down stairs, and on gorgeous overlook boardwalks. By the time we made it back to the car, I was exhausted, but already planning our next visit. Even with how much we had already explored, there were still so many other paths, overlooks and canyons to see. I’d imagine that not too much time will pass before I’m back for more.
rebeccawanderlusting 