It is now 20 years since our 2nd river kayaking expedition to Iceland. By way of marking the event, we are going to blog and tweet about our trip as if it was happening this summer.
Follow us as we go (went) live on our blog at http://www.icelandic-rivers.info and twitter @IcelandicRivers.
University of Sheffield · Rob Pumphrey
1991 expedition diary
68 daily entries from 1991-05-15 to 1991-08-23 — preparation in England, the drive to Iceland, and weeks of paddling, camping, and Land Rover maintenance.
May 1991
1 entries
June 1991
13 entries1991-06-01
Hurrah, finished writing paper for the 1991 European Wind Energy Conference, Amsterdam. I can now get on with the more important task of getting ready for our trip to Iceland. Still no boats or Land Rover. We do however…
Buying a Landrover
Go to Heckmondwike to see a Landrover we have seen in Auto Trader. It is a bit of a wreck, but we buy it anyway. The owner says the only thing that needs doing is the fuel and temperature gauge. Haha! We need to adjust…
Penarth and Landrover Maintenance
Drove down from Sheffield to Penarth today. By dint of a minor miracle we made it, and the Landrover did not fail us on its first journey. Planning to stay with Andy's parents for a week to fix up the vehicle as best we…
Landrover Maintenance
The Landrover at Vic's Garage Still in Penarth. 2 days now spent on the Landrover, and it is not looking great. Went out of the garage for a quick drive today, and got 2 miles before we ground to a halt. A bit of…
Back in Sheffield
Andy fitting free-wheeling hubs Left Penarth last night and got as far as the motorway before the Landrover gave up the ghost. It looked like the same old problem with the fuel pump diaphragm. Tom needed to be back in…
Packing in Helsby
Left Sheffield for the last time before our trip to Iceland. Arrived at my parents' house in Helsby, Cheshire this evening for the final preparations for the trip North. We have just about got everything we need and…
Drive to Aberdeen
All packed and ready to roll. Time to leave Helsby, Cheshire behind and head off to Aberdeen and the ferry to Shetland. We think that the leaking fuel from the front of the Landrover has been fixed, but there is some…
Arrival in Shetland
Arrived at 8:00 in Lerwick harbour. Drove up to Ollaberry to have breakfast with some friends, then headed out west to paddle around the cliffs at Esha Ness . Kayaking in sea caves under the Esha Ness Cliffs Sea was…
Stopover in Torshavn
After a late night to get on the Smyril Line Ferry to Iceland, we have a bit a lie in. Being for so long on a ferry really is pretty dull. We have a couple of hours to look around Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe…
Arrived in Iceland
Woke up at 7am, and took a look on deck. Iceland was in view, and we had a lovely clear morning. We are nearly there, and there is only the small matter of Customs to clear.After a pleasant trip up the fjord, we dock at…
Iceland, Day 2
Woke up to find the weather not quite up to yesterdays remarkable sunshine. We head off and start to set up to run the Nordurdalsa . The run proves to be highly entertaining, with a few eskimo rolls that help…
Landrover Breakdown
Woke up very early this morning in a terrible sweat. We all brought winter down sleeping bags from Rab before we left, but that is now looking like a poor choice. The sun is hot on the tent at 3am. Surely this weather…
Geithellnaa at Last
Woke up again very early as the sun warmed the tent to the temperature you usually expect in a British hotel. Had a long slow breakfast before getting ready for the run. Andy drove down the track, and we all walked back…
July 1991
31 entries
Journey South
Awoke with the usual heat problems. There was a gentle breeze outside, and my early morning stroll along the beach was rather cool. Disturbed a large number of whooper swans. We set off south with the plan of exploring…
Jokulsarlon in the Sun
The hot weather continues, and we have to pile out of bed again when the sun hits the tent. I am sure this cannot last. We do the short drive to Jokulsarlon and the sun is out. Load the camera with ISO 50 Fuji slide…
Kayaking on the Skafta
First day here we have not woken up in a terrible sweat. Cloud is at 10/10 and it just started to rain as we broke camp. This is south east Iceland though, where annual rainfall almost keeps up with Cherrapunji. There…
Skafta, Part II
Beginning to miss waking up in a steaming hot tent at 4am. Still raining this morning, and we decide to set-up and run a longer section of the Skafta. We set off up Route 208 and find a suitable put-in. As it is still…
Skaftá, Part II Day 2
Our river tent, a 2 man Quaser, is really a bit cramped with 3 of us. The night was uncomfortable, with a damp and gritty sleeping bag, and not quite enough space. We don't hang about and the weather has not improved…
West to Reykjavik
We start the day with a search for Gas. Our bottle does not have the same adapter as everyone else in the country, and we have failed to so far to find a garage that can fill it up. We eventually call our friend in…
Surfing on the Hvitá
Stay in bed till 11am after such a late night. We head off to the Hvitá with our Icelandic friends in search of some fun simple white water. Hvitá translates as "White River" so perhaps we will be in luck. Tom paddling…
Kayaking on the Þjórsá
Monday morning and we are up relatively early. We aim to paddle on the Þjórsá , Iceland's longest river, which at our guess is flowing at over 800 cumecs. We set off east and go via Selfoss where we calculate the…
Tom's 20th Birthday
I awoke this morning to a loud flapping. After a short interval, the tent outer flew off and Tom had to leap out of bed to recover it. The wind continued throughout breakfast and started to strengthen. Andy and I…
Flat calm and another crack at the Hvitá
After all the wind yesterday, it is flat calm this morning and there are flies everywhere. We take the tent down fighting off the flies and eat breakfast in the Landrover. Tom cannot face frying the Pommes Maison, so it…
The Upper Hvitá
Two weeks into our Iceland River Expedition, and we are still alive. More calm this morning and another breakfast in the flies. We flap our arms about a lot and eventually manage to pack up our camp and head for the…
Climbing Búrfell
Woke quite late this morning. The sun did not get us up at 3am and we did not fall out of bed in a terrible sweat. We are due to meet our Icelandic friends tomorrow (Saturday) at the Ytri Ranga, so we decide to stay in…
Ytri Ranga
Up and away by 11am. Bothered by flies again at breakfast. Plan today is to meet our Icelandic friends at the put-in and run the Ytri Rangá together. The Ytri Rangá is a great looking clear water river with some easy…
Another day in Þjórsárdal
Chilly morning today and we get up in the drizzle. Going to Ytri Rangá again to meet our local friends and have a bit of a paddle together. We have a great ceremony to perform this morning. The giant cardboard box we…
Up to the Markarfljót
Broke the 9am barrier this morning. I was up by 8:30, but Tom and Andy were still in bed at 9. We ate our meagre breakfast and had another go with the silicone sealant on the front of the Landrover. Got to try and keep…
A walk on Tindfjallajökull
We all manage to get out of bed before 9am this morning. Something of a record. Tom and I pack up whilst Andy writes his diary and has the mick taken. We drive up the Markarfljot canyon a bit and take another look at…
Kayaking on the Markarfljót
After a day off walking to recover from the disappointment of not paddling on the Markarfljót canyon, we find a section we can paddle . We make another cracking start and as Tom and I pack up, Andy checks out the…
In search of the Upper Skaftá
Been here 3 weeks now. Just when I thought we were getting into a bit of a rhythm everything is blown out of the water. We all got out of bed within 5 minutes of each other. Next thing you know we will be eating…
A mountain walk near Laki
The sun got us up this morning again, first time for a while. Had a cooked breakfast, and for once, we are leaving the tent here for the day, so no made packing. We make an early start and head off on a walk. We plan to…
Setup to Kayak the Skaftá
Awoke in reasonable time and started to prepare to kayak the upper Skaftá. We are planning one night on the river and this is the remotest section of river we have done yet. The shuttle is 23 miles, and the roads are…
Day 1 on the Upper Skaftá
Got up in the sunshine and packed up early. It could be a long day ahead and we are not sure what the river holds. I eased onto the river at 10:14am and paddled the first boily rapid without incident. I photoed Andy and…
Day 2 on the Upper Skaftá
Woke up nice and snug in my dry down sleeping bag after a good nights sleep. Poor Andy did not fair so well, and had a pretty rotten night wrapping in our spare clothing. Obviously dry bags are not a dry as we had…
Back to East Iceland
Incredibly good night's sleep with somewhat disturbing dreams about kayaking on a river made of lava. Raining when we got up; is Kirkjubæjarklaustur the wettest place on the planet? Set of in a subdued state back off to…
Back in the East Fjords
Andy nearly beat me out of bed this morning, but I put on a bit of a sprint and got their first. Stopped off in Höfn for the garage and post office. Saw two wally hitch hikers as we left town, clad in amusing hoods and…
Back on the Geithellnaá
Four weeks into our kayaking expedition to Iceland and all is well. Rather misty this morning and we are planning to paddle the lower gorge section of the Geithellnaá . After packing up, we rather rashly decide we need…
First of the Great Northern Rivers
We head over to the Jokulsa i Fljotsdal, one of the huge rivers that flow northwards from the Vatnajokull. The weather is flat calm, and the scenery is like a picture postcard, snow covered mountains, green forest and…
Inspection of the upper Jökulsá í Fljótsdal
Bit of a slow start this morning, and I awoke from a strange dream about meeting Madonna (the pop star, not the Biblical Mary) and being taken to dinner after visiting a film set. Weather is pretty poor today, and we…
A short paddle on Lagarfljót
Another slow start, this is becoming a bit of a habit. We pack up the tent after several days by the side of the Jökulsá í Fljótsdal and cannot resit one more go on the excellent surfing wave. Tom goes to town, and gets…
A walk at Seyðisfjörður
I tried to crawl out of bed early today, but with partial success. Weather looked promising so we go with our plan to walk along a ridge we have identified that runs along to the south of Seyðisfjörður to a mountain…
Food Dump Collection
Forced out of bed this morning at 9:30 by a sudden rise in temperature. My strange dream about escaping from the Army by travelling across France in a bun ended abruptly at the Belgium border. Back to the real world,…
Back on the Jokulsá á Brü
Awoke with the alarm this morning at 07:52. Andy and Tom stayed in bed for another hour allowing me to do a bit reading and a relaxed breakfast. It is nice and sunny again this morning and we set off down the road to…
August 1991
23 entries
Kayaking the Jökulsá á Fjöllum
Really hot and sunny day here in Iceland. Plan to set up and run the lower canyon of the Jökulsá á Fjöllum as it runs through the Jökulsárgljúfur National Park. Pack up the tent, and Andy runs the shuttle. Tom and I lie…
Kayaking on the Laxa
Woke up in the sun, and shortly after a large coach arrived in our volcano crater and cracked out their breakfast. Provided us with some amusement as we ate ours, and Tom took quite a fancy to one of the ladies in the…
Skjálfandafljót and Goðafoss
Woken up again by being too hot. This is not the same Iceland I remember from 1989 where we got so cold on the Skjálfandafljót that we lost the feeling in our fingers. Packed up camp and set off for the Skjálfandafljót…
Tom's Subterranean Kayak Adventure
Planned to kayak a short section of the Skjálfandafljót at Aldeyjarfoss and expected we would have a pleasant paddle on a good section of river. How wrong we were! This is a the section of river I had paddled in 1989…
A second go at the Skjálfandafljót
Bit of a late start, after the epic of yesterday. The early morning Landrover inspection reveals that one of the front springs has failed. The Landrover still rolls, and the front axle is not resting on the end stop,…
New Front Springs for the Landrover
Needed a lie in today, so I crawled out of bed after Tom and Andy this morning. We processed the last of this weeks food box and found a broken jar of jam at the bottom. More mass to add to the rusl. It was an…
Hot bath in the Vestri-Jökulsá
After a late night, we slept in a bit and when we did get up, we were not allowed to get our own breakfast, but were invited back into the farm. These guys are great, fresh bread for breakfast - thanks very much!. We…
Inspection of the upper Eystri Jökulsá
This is more like Iceland, woke up freezing cold, 5ºC outside and a heavy mist. Glad of a warm Rab sleeping bag on mornings like this. There is a bit of nervousness about running a canyon blind after some problems we…
Running the Shuttle for the Eystri Jökulsá
Another cold start to the day at our campsite near the Hofsjökull, and another slow start. We pack up our main tent and get ready for 2 nights in the river tent, a 2 man tent that is just big enough to get us all in. It…
Eystri Jökulsá Day 1
Woke up and made breakfast in bed. Out of bed by the late hour of 10:15, and on the river by 11:15. This is the first day of our planned 2 day descent of the Eystri Jökulsá and the start of the river is rather flat,…
Eystri Jökulsá Day 2
Breakfast in bed again today. Sounds like a luxury, but when there are 3 smelly blokes in a two man tent, I can assure you that is not the case. Tom refuses to sleep in the middle, so I take that position; at least it…
A day of Recovery
The weather looked miserable this morning when we woke up in the Eystri Jökulsá valley. The rain came down as we left our campsite; Andy was driving and his right foot got wet as the rain drips through the front of the…
Further North and Further West
Got up last as we are all a bit knackered and needed a lie in, and it was raining steadily. I eventually braved the elements and found out the rain was not as bad as it sounded in the tent. We troffed our breakfast and…
Power Station Exploration
Awoke again in the rain. Eventually we crawl out of bed and have breakfast. We drove a little way and set about investigating a small hydro station by the sea. The University of Sheffield Iceland River Expedition…
Great Northern Divers
It was a gorgeous morning today. The sort of morning that makes you feel like you should have got out of bed several hours earlier. We lazed about for a while enjoying the sun before heading off. Sea was like a mirror…
South to Rivers
Raining this morning in Fjarðarhornsdalur, and I let Andy get up first and lurked in bed hoping that the debris of last week's food box will be sorted out. We left Kollafjörður and the north west fjords today and…
Kayaking on the Hvítá í Borgarfirði
Another wet morning on the west side of Iceland. Eventually we get up and Tom and I run a section of the Hvítá í Borgarfirði . Andy drives for us as his kayak is in no state to run a river with this many rocks in it.…
Back to Reykjavík
Woke up early to the noise of a door banging in the wind; got up and shut it, noting a short wheel base Landrover just outside. Went back to sleep, and woke much later, the Landrover having gone. Perhaps it was just a…
Chaos In the USSR
Andy and Rob getting the benefit of mud at the Blue Lagoon Woke up with my alarm and got Coffee and branflakes for breakfast. Quite a treat. The newspapers are full of stories from Moscow, were it sounds like there is a…
Another Day, Another Landrover Disaster
Another day dawns, and we pack the Landrover and cruise. Head back to Grindavik for fuel and water and after some confusion in the complex road system in Grindavik we head off east for Porslarhöfn. All appeared to be…
Landrover Maintenance
I crawled out of bed and off to work. Well, actually we started with breakfast, and then set off on our mission to fix the rear axle problems on our Series IIA Landrover. Needed to adjust the bearings on the truck we…
More Landrover Fights
Spent the day in Reykjavík fixing up several problems with the Landrover. We have turned into the University of Sheffield Landrover Maintenance Expedition. Bit of a slow start though, after the efforts of yesterday.…
Surfing on the South Coast of Iceland
Got up early with the hope of going surfing on the south coast of Iceland near the mouth of the Ölfusá. Bit of vehicle fiddling before we set off, we exchanged the oil in our rear axle. It all looks pretty nasty, so…