I’m with my friend Nigel on this weekend trip to explore the Bruce and attend the Orchid Festival in Tobermory, Ontario. We’ve decided to go on a sunset cruise with Blue Heron Cruises. The only time I’ve taken one of the Blue Heron Cruises was to get to Flowerpot Island (which we’re doing tomorrow!) so this will be an interesting experience.
Bruce Escarpment
As we puttered down the coastline I wondered to myself where the Bruce Trail would be in all this beauty. I know that some of it was along the shoreline and occasionally I would get a glimpse of a possible trail. Hmm…one day soon I will be hiking there.
Cave Mouth
When you see a cave, do you wonder what’s inside? Do you want to get over to it and explore more? I wonder if anything lives there – maybe a bat colony? Maybe a bear?
Sunset Cruise
I wanted to capture something a little different during the cruise. I was on a boat after all so why not do a shot through the boat of the other passengers enjoying the sunset. This couple was in the perfect position to allow that sunburst to come through.
Boat Cruise
Look at those lovely colours! We had a great time on the cruise and it was a different way to see things that we might not normally get a chance to see.
Yesterday’s journey from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland via ferry was uneventful. We were able to catch some naps and just laze around for the majority of the day. There was absolutely no photography happening beyond the quick smartphone snap. Today, however, was back on the road and with a couple of stops in mind we got to it right after breakfast.
Driving east from the hotel takes us to Rose Blanche, a town with a unique stone lighthouse on the south western shores of the island. Rain was falling as we pulled into a parking lot filled with growing puddles at the Rose Blanche Lighthouse site. After paying the small fee to get in we suited up in rain gear, grabbed some plastic bags to wrap the camera in we headed uphill on the path that would take us to the lighthouse. Rose Blanche Lighthouse sits high on the cliffs above the North Atlantic Ocean.
Rose Blanche Lighthouse
After some time of exploring inside and outside the lighthouse we wandered the ocean path before going back to the car and getting out of the rain gear. A lot of my photos had raindrops on them even though I was diligent about wiping the lens as often as possible. Unfortunately at some angles the lens was pelted with rain and there was no way to keep up with it.
Rose Blanche3
As we drove north the rain seemed to dissipate and when we arrived at Hidden Falls we were only greeted with cloudy skies. There are two waterfalls here at the Hidden Falls location and to be honest I’m not sure which one is the “hidden” one. The one below can be found at the parking lot when you pull in. No overly hidden in my opinion but hey I guess we did come down a not so clearly marked road so that could have been the hidden part.
Hidden Falls 1
From the parking lot there is a path to the ocean and a little ways down we came across another waterfall. Could this be Hidden Falls?
Hidden Falls
Since there was nothing to tell us which falls was which we just enjoyed ourselves and photographed until we had to move on.
The sun was shining this morning but the winds were extremely strong – so strong we could barely stand as we explored the Vik area.
Iceland Southern Shores
Driving to the highest point along the shores we found it very difficult to walk the cliff edge let alone keep the camera steady but the views were definitely worth the effort.
Vik Gates
After being blown about for awhile we headed out enjoy some more waterfalls in the area. It’s really very hard to go anywhere in Iceland without seeing a waterfall somewhere – be it a roadside or in a park that one has to hike into. Skogafoss, a very popular stop for those exploring Iceland was one of those roadside stops. We found the parking lot behind some restaurants and walked the few hundred feet to its base. We are lucky as we have chosen a not so busy season so the crowds are minimal.
Mighty Skogafoss
I patiently waited for that window of opportunity when no one was right at the base directly in my shot to get some photos while at other times I took photos with other tourists in them.
Our final stop before we headed to Reykjavik to find a place to lie our heads is Seljalandsfoss. This waterfall allows one to walk behind it and get completely soaked. At certain times I’m told you can walk behind and not get that wet. I decided against going there as I watched person after person come out dripping from head to toe. Today was not the day to venture there.
Seljalandsfoss
It was very impressive from the front so I spent quite a bit of time photographing it before exploring some smaller waterfalls not too far away from it before we headed to the big city and our final leg of our trip.
Today was a day of waterfalls. First we drove out to mighty Svartifoss, which we had skipped over yesterday because of a heavy downpour. Now I’m not adverse to getting out in the pouring rain but it was just miserable out and the fog was pretty heavy which meant that there was a high chance of not so great photos.
Svartifoss
It’s a long hike to the falls – a very long uphill battle as a matter of fact that is until one has to head back down into the valley below to see this waterfall up close and personal. It is a beauty with all the basalt columns surrounding it. While here we were able to experience a few different weather patterns while we photographed – it went from drizzle to hail to snow to sun. All in the span of an hour or possibly less – I didn’t time it. Crossing a bridge and up the other side Kathy and I clambered up onto the tallest peak in this park to get a view of not just one but two glaciers! (Still working on finding a great photo to show you). Then it was off to meet up with Paul and Galina who missed our waving from above.
Heygotufoss
As we walked downhill we found another waterfall, Heygotufoss rushing out of a crevice on the lower cliffs. I had to get a few different angles but my favourite is the one above. After shooting for awhile we realized that we had to get our butts back to the car because the other two were waiting for us by the car. To our surprise we were the first ones down and when Paul and Galina showed up we discovered they went on a side path to check out some more turf homes. There’s definitely a lot to discover here in the park and I wish we had more time to explore.
Foss á síðu
On the drive back to the hotel there was a waterfall by the side of the road that when the wind is just right it looks as though it flows skyward. It was our lucky day when we drove by that it was windy enough to see the phenomenon. It is very strange to wrap your mind around – you know its flowing down but visually its not what seems to be going on. Iceland continues to amaze me with strange and wonderful things.
Today we were headed down the east coast with our final destination in the south, in the town of Hofn. Along the way rugged cliffs stretched below and sometimes above us with us as we drove fjord after fjord.
Pitstop
We made a pitstop at one of these soaring cliffs to check out something a little unexpected…a short, stubby orange lighthouse.
Small
At barely two stories high this little lighthouse sits atop a huge cliff at the top end of a fjord warning those on the ocean to watch out. There were some ruins on the property marked with names which may indicate either the first settlers, the vikings, or maybe something from a more recent past. I’m not sure and still haven’t found much on this area.
Reindeer
Continuing towards Hofn we started discussing the fact that we hadn’t seen any reindeer and that really by this point we should have seen something. Just a few minutes after bringing up this discussion we round a bend and there was a large group of reindeer that all at once, upon seeing us, ran parallel to the car before veering to the right heading uphill. One thing about reindeer is that they are bloody hard to see. There is seven in the photo above but the almost blend in to the landscape. Good camouflage there reindeer! Makes me wonder if we may have passed some previously but didn’t spot them. I don’t think so since they seem to be easily spooked. But one never really knows.
