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because our ride is so toasty inside.
Ragnar runs a tour company in Iceland called
SuperJeep.is that specialises in off-road adventures.
“No one offers as good-quality tours as we do,” was
his boast, so I decided to put him to the test. Right
now we’re on an extreme road trip, on what’s known
as the Golden Circle. It’s a route that loops some
300km around Reykjavik into central Iceland and
back, taking in some of the country’s most exhilarating
landmarks. And one thing’s for certain: it’s not a trip
your average Sunday driver could manage.
Ragnar isn’t behind the wheel, however. That’s left
to one of his able lieutenants, Ingi, whose sanguine
manner is all the more impressive given the zero
visibility. On our day trip, we take in a number of
sights and these were, without a hint of the usual travel
hyperbole, actually breathtaking. Gullfoss, meaning
“golden falls” is a cascading two-tiered waterfall that
churns the river below it with awesome vigour, despite
the fact it’s many degrees below freezing. Standing on
a ledge overlooking the scene, with the wind swirli
and water crashing, is a truly humbling sight.
Then there’s Laugarfjall hill: a steaming, sulphu
expanse of mud and rock, where hot springs bubbl
the surface at temperatures capable of boiling eggs.
home to a number of geysers, including Geysir (whi
is where the English word for this type of natural
fountain comes from), that can spit water some 70
into the air, and another, Strokkur, which erupts ev
five minutes or so in almost as impressive a fashion
Further into the tour, we’re even given the chanc
to go snowmobiling, on an ascent to the Langjökul
glacier. More than 10% of Iceland is made up of sn
caps, which remain frosty even in the summer mon
but in mid-winter, they’re positively freezing. It’s ye
another exhilarating thrill, following five other mo
up near-vertical slopes in an hour-long trip.
“We always have adventures on the way,” says In
these tours. “If not, we find something else to do.”
It all adds up to an unmissable experience. The
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