Year 12 Geography Trip to Iceland
Our year 12 Geography students arrived safely in Iceland and began their trip with a visit to the Bridge between Continents and Gunnuhver.
On day two, students visited a geothermal centre, where they had the opportunity to taste boiled eggs and rye bread baked overnight in the hot stream!
They then experienced a glacier walk at Solheimajokull where they were taught how to use crampons and ice axes. Next, the geographers stopped at Eyjafjallajokull to see the site of the 2010 ash cloud eruption. They then visited the black volcanic beach at Reynisfjara to see magnificent basalt cliffs and caves and nesting puffins. The day was completed with a spectacular walk behind the Seljalandsfoss waterfall.
Day three commenced with an electric ferry across to the Vestmannaeyjar Islands, Heimaey in particular, home to 4,200 inhabitants, plenty of puffins and plenty of volcanic activity!
They visited a gorgeous wooden church, donated by Norway and dedicated to St Olaf, to hear some local folklore.
Then students visited Storhofoi, the windiest point on Iceland, and the Bird Watching Cabin to see a colony of puffins up close. They then tackled the steep incline of the Eldfell crater, which erupted in 1973 and caused ash and lava to engulf one third of the houses on the island.
Students then had a go at using the rope technique Vestmannaeyjar locals use to hunt puffin eggs on the cliff face, which is trickier than it looks! Our Geographers finished off with a trip to a local geothermally heated swimming pool with slides, hot tubs and a sauna, before jumping back on the ferry to their guesthouse in Hjardarbol for one final night before heading back to Reykjavík tomorrow evening.
