Date: 24th Feb 2023
This morning the weather remained very closed in, so we visited the thermal area of Geysir as that would allow more intimate views of the thermal features rather than trying to photograph the wide open views at Gullfoss. The original Geysir is one of the largest in the world, erupting over 200ft into the air. Sadly, it very rarely erupts today, however there are numerous other thermal pools and features in the thermal area, including the smaller geysir of Strokkur, which reliably erupts every few minutes to a height of about 50ft. Between eruptions it is a blue pool, which suddenly forms into a dome, before bursting out an eruption. Catching the moment of burst requires quick reactions on the shutter release.
Strokkur Erupting
There are a few other hot springs and pools in the area, one of the largest being Konungshver, the King’s hot spring. This was named after the King of Denmark who visited in 1874, but he would not have seen this hot spring as it did not exist until after an earthquake in 1896!
Konungshver Hot Spring
An oddity close to the entrance to the thermal area is Smidur, a small hot spring that has had a small hut built over it, so that the steam blows out through the window and chimney.
Smidur Hot Spring
After visiting the thermal area, we drove back to Gullfoss in the afternoon. Sadly the weather had not improved, and in fact was even more murky than in the morning. Wide shots of this spectacular waterfall were a bit pointless, and even this more intimate view of the lower part of the falls has had to be edited heavily to remove haze and bring out some details – overall a rather unsatisfactory couple of days at Gullfoss.
Lower Falls At Gullfoss