WH(WK) Expo to Iceland with family August 2013
- Thread starter jeepgc
- Start date
jeepgc
Adventurer
I probably should, although is isn't vehicle based so I didn't know where to put it.
We started at the Icecap and walked out to the coast. 125 miles over the tundra. It took 8 days.
You can post your Greenland trip here:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/51-Trekking-and-Climbing
pixelcodex
Observer
Awesome stuff. Looks like the trip of a lifetime... Funny you mentioned being tired of Florida. I live in Miami, and even though it is very close to me, I despise Orlando (I am assuming that is where you take the family). I saw tons of brits when I went there though.
Questions about the WK and the trip:
1 - I checked the FB page of the Russell off road and did not see photos of your rig. I am assuming the armour is custom made. How big is it and how much does it cover? Looks long! I know I am far from England, but wondering if it is one off or they would sell them.
2 - Also, about the rear storage: do you know what kind of wood they used for that? Looks like the stuff used on planes. Strong and easily cleanable. I have searched trying to find out about that, but do not know what it is...
The other question relates more to the family. I have 2 girls as well, but much younger and I am wondering what age yours are and what kind of stuff they had to do while on the trip. I showed my wife some pics and she said "looks like the driver would have all the fun and the rest would get tired of the scenery pretty soon". I know, not the adventurous type, but she kind of has a point if it is all two weeks of exploring...
Thanks for sharing, and can't wait to see the whole lot of pics on Flickr.
Questions about the WK and the trip:
1 - I checked the FB page of the Russell off road and did not see photos of your rig. I am assuming the armour is custom made. How big is it and how much does it cover? Looks long! I know I am far from England, but wondering if it is one off or they would sell them.
2 - Also, about the rear storage: do you know what kind of wood they used for that? Looks like the stuff used on planes. Strong and easily cleanable. I have searched trying to find out about that, but do not know what it is...
The other question relates more to the family. I have 2 girls as well, but much younger and I am wondering what age yours are and what kind of stuff they had to do while on the trip. I showed my wife some pics and she said "looks like the driver would have all the fun and the rest would get tired of the scenery pretty soon". I know, not the adventurous type, but she kind of has a point if it is all two weeks of exploring...
Thanks for sharing, and can't wait to see the whole lot of pics on Flickr.
jeepgc
Adventurer
Hey Pixel, thank you, the trip was incredible.
I never said that we were tired of Florida, we love it there
the ladies just didn't want to go in the Summertime, too hot and too many people. We usually visit Florida in late fall or winter time. Yeah, due to the girls, we tend to do the Orlando thing, but we do venture out to the Gulf coast, Atlantic coast and a little further north to visit Silver Springs. Last time we were there, the girls were all "parked" out, so maybe our next visit we can visit some of the wilder places.The Jeep can be found here:
http://www.russelloffroad.co.uk/news-article.asp?nid=3
The armour covers the front diff, extends back and just stops short of the muffler and fuel tank, I'll get under the Jeep later today, measure and take a pic for you so you can see from the other end. It is custom made, but if you send Russell offroad an email (simon@russelloffroad.co.uk), I'm sure that they could accommodate you.
The wood used is a type of plyboard, I don't know exactly which one as Oakleaf Conversions recommended a specific plyboard for the build so it would be durable and lightweight. You can contact Chris (oakleafconversions@gmail.com) and ask him exactly what they are.
Both Simon at Russell Offroad and Chris at Oakleaf conversions are genuine, helpful guys and would welcome your enquiries.
My girls are 10 and 8 - how old are yours?
We wondered about how our daughters would take to the travelling too.
The Jeep was ready in May except for the suspension so we had a few months to get our family ready for the trip.
We went camping and had some long drives out in the Jeep, we often took day trips anyway, but always around the 2 hour duration, when we got the Jeep back we started extending that to 3-4 hour stints, sometimes a little longer.
On the Iceland trip, we had to be packed and ready to leave at 0830hrs every day to travel to the next site.
Each day would consist of driving, stopping for breaks and sightseeing at places along the way before reaching our next camp.
Sometimes, if the camp was only a few hours away, we would set up camp first then, go elsewhere then return to the camp.
The activities were outdoor play focused, climbing/jumping/running on rocks, rivers/streams and walking as well as collecting different types of volcanic rock.
One thing your ladies may be interested in is the many natural springs to bathe in, my daughters loved them.
There were also many waterfalls, glaciers, and beaches that we visited as well as a geyser and geothermal areas.
They did go horse riding, had the option to go whale watching, but didn't want to go due to having to go on a "small" boat - they were all seasick on the crossing
Seasickness tablets didn't seem to do much, but they were fine when they wore those travel sickness wrist bands.
We did have a "shopping" day when we were staying near one the major cities (read small town
) which went down well of course.When in the Jeep, the kids were playing on their tablets, or colouring/drawing etc or playing with their toys.
Some of the camp sites had play areas, but those that didn't they just played in the outdoors
We did go to some great restaurants so it was in some places a civilised trip and wasn't all camp cooking.
- looks like you may have an uphill battle on your hands pixel
My wife was supposed to share some of the driving, but was a little intimidated by some of the off road stuff, maybe next time.
I wouldn't say that the driver had all of the fun, as some of it was tiring and tough going.
The girls were looking out of the Jeep windows a lot admiring the landscapes, the thing with Iceland is that you never have hours of the same scenery, it changes very quickly from one type to the next, maybe the variety kept it interesting as passengers?
The kids loved the many river crossings, but sometimes did complain about some of the bumpy roads. Some of the "maintained" highland roads are rutted/corrugated and not much fun for anyone riding them, it was great to be offroad, but sometimes it was nice to hit tarmac again.
We were all in awe of Iceland and we all want to go back there as soon as we can - that includes the kids
You're welcome, all the pics I'm putting up are already on that set http://www.flickr.com/photos/chickenzilla/sets/72157635336718461/, but I will be posting up some video as soon as I can get my act together
jeepgc
Adventurer
The armour is approx 62 inches in length, here are some pics so that you can see the other end:
pixelcodex
Observer
Looks great! I will drop Russell OR a line to see what they say...
Fernando
Fernando
pixelcodex
Observer
I never said that we were tired of Florida, we love it there
I have to agree with you on that: there are a lot better places in Florida, but the kids get drawn to Orlando. The west coast is beautiful, with amazing beaches, and actually a lot of interesting art and museums, as a lot of rich folks had summer houses in the area which they turned into museums later on. I am sure as the girls get older they will start to appreciate that a lot more.
I guess I searched on the FB page before. I will drop them a line for sure, but I imagine any shipping from the UK would make it prohibitive.
I will drop him a line as well. Again, not feasible to order from him, but he might be able to point me in the right direction or share some wisdom.
Mine are a bit younger, They are 5 and 2, but I want to start getting them used to it. Hopefully if they enjoy it from a young age, they will later on. Some of the best memories I have of my childhood are from traveling with the family. Although we did not do anything off the beaten path, I always remember traveling all around my native country (Argentina) very fondly.
The Jeep was ready in May except for the suspension so we had a few months to get our family ready for the trip.
We went camping and had some long drives out in the Jeep, we often took day trips anyway, but always around the 2 hour duration, when we got the Jeep back we started extending that to 3-4 hour stints, sometimes a little longer.
On the Iceland trip, we had to be packed and ready to leave at 0830hrs every day to travel to the next site.
Each day would consist of driving, stopping for breaks and sightseeing at places along the way before reaching our next camp.
Sometimes, if the camp was only a few hours away, we would set up camp first then, go elsewhere then return to the camp.
The activities were outdoor play focused, climbing/jumping/running on rocks, rivers/streams and walking as well as collecting different types of volcanic rock.
One thing your ladies may be interested in is the many natural springs to bathe in, my daughters loved them.
There were also many waterfalls, glaciers, and beaches that we visited as well as a geyser and geothermal areas.
They did go horse riding, had the option to go whale watching, but didn't want to go due to having to go on a "small" boat - they were all seasick on the crossing
Seasickness tablets didn't seem to do much, but they were fine when they wore those travel sickness wrist bands.
We did have a "shopping" day when we were staying near one the major cities (read small town
When in the Jeep, the kids were playing on their tablets, or colouring/drawing etc or playing with their toys.
Some of the camp sites had play areas, but those that didn't they just played in the outdoors
We did go to some great restaurants so it was in some places a civilised trip and wasn't all camp cooking.
- looks like you may have an uphill battle on your hands pixel
My wife was supposed to share some of the driving, but was a little intimidated by some of the off road stuff, maybe next time.
I wouldn't say that the driver had all of the fun, as some of it was tiring and tough going.
The girls were looking out of the Jeep windows a lot admiring the landscapes, the thing with Iceland is that you never have hours of the same scenery, it changes very quickly from one type to the next, maybe the variety kept it interesting as passengers?
The kids loved the many river crossings, but sometimes did complain about some of the bumpy roads. Some of the "maintained" highland roads are rutted/corrugated and not much fun for anyone riding them, it was great to be offroad, but sometimes it was nice to hit tarmac again.
We were all in awe of Iceland and we all want to go back there as soon as we can - that includes the kids
I actually enjoyed the rest of the pictures on your Flickr set last night with my wife. I think she might be warming up to the idea, however far away something like this might be for us. It looks like you had a lot of stuff to do along the way, and you always have the fallback of the ever present iPads and various electronics to help entertain the kids on the boring road sections...
At least I think my wife is getting more comfortable with the idea of camping off the beaten path, and even is favorable to the idea of a roof top tent.
We'll see. Again, thanks for sharing not only the pictures but also the experience with the family. I got the WK with the specs that I did (4WD, etc) with the idea of bringing the family to the off the beaten path camping I had done with the motorcycle. I am always curious of what people are doing and how they can integrate their families and make them get "the bug" for this sort of thing.
Fernando
jeepgc
Adventurer
Right, although a little late and maybe overdue, I'll make a start on a write up of our trip to Iceland.
We made the start of our journey, all packed up and ready, we left home to drive to Harwich in Essex, England. We took the overnight DFDS ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg.
The ferry crossing was calm and uneventful, cabin was pretty good, comfortable and had more than enough space for the four of us.
To give the kids and ourselves some typical holiday fun, we stopped at Legoland for one night on the way from Esbjerg to Hirtshalls, north Denmark. I can strongly recommend Legoland Denmark as it seems to be more laid back and less in your face, even for a theme park, than the British version.
The Battle of Hoth, for you Empire Strikes Back fans.
Denmark was sunny and dry with temperatures in the early 80's.
After a sleepless night at the Legoland hotel – some parents let their kids run up and down the hotel corridors late into the night and early in the morning, we spent half a day around the park before leaving Legoland before heading north.
No doubt there will be some amongst you thinking, Legoland? Children? I thought this was Expedition Portal!
We took an easy drive from Legoland up to Hirtshalls, where we were to camp for the night before taking the ship to Iceland the next morning. Driving in Denmark was mostly a peaceful experience, roads weren't that busy and were really well maintained.
On pulling into the camp site, we met the other couple that were going on the Iceland trip with us, they were taking their LandRover Defender.
The camp site was really busy, mostly with 4x4 and camper vans to take the crossing to Iceland.
Later that evening, we all met one of the guides at a local bar and went over the forthcoming trip.
Another sleepless night to be had, mainly due to excitement and anticipation, but probably due to vehicles arriving at all times through the night.
We woke up to heavy rain the next morning, loading up and packing up our wet tent and gear, a nice send off from Denmark.
The ship to Iceland was run by the Smyril Line and had a short stop over at the Faroe Islands. It takes 2 nights to get to Iceland from Denmark.
Queuing up for the boarding of the ship, there were long queues of kitted out 4x4s and other vehicles patiently waiting to board.
All passengers had to leave the vehicles and board the ship by foot.
Boarding the ship was straight forward, but we were being packed in like sardines. Being a right hand drive vehicle, I had to shout up otherwise I wouldn't be able to get out of the Jeep. They make you park right up to the next row of vehicles with next to no room between. Left hand drive vehicles were able to easliy exit via the driver's door (being on the empty side). My driver's door was butt up to the next vehicle, they got me to park up with my driver's door next to a tiny gap between the vehicles parked next to me so that I could get out– is that clear as mud?
Cabin on the Smyril Line ship was almost identical to the DFDS ship, although a little wider.
It would do for 2 nights.
The crossing was a little rough and the girls all started to suffer from sea sickness. Sea sickness tablets didn't seem to alleviate anything and I think even made our eldest daughter vomit. I went to the duty free shop and bought them all those anti-sickness wrist bands and they did the trick, the girls were right as rain.
The rough seas departed when we arrived at the Faroe Islands.
Crowds of people up on top deck to get a glimpse of the Faroes.
After a short stop, we were finally on our way to Iceland.
Amazing rock formations on the way out of the Faroes.
One more night and we'd be in Iceland!
We made the start of our journey, all packed up and ready, we left home to drive to Harwich in Essex, England. We took the overnight DFDS ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg.
The ferry crossing was calm and uneventful, cabin was pretty good, comfortable and had more than enough space for the four of us.
To give the kids and ourselves some typical holiday fun, we stopped at Legoland for one night on the way from Esbjerg to Hirtshalls, north Denmark. I can strongly recommend Legoland Denmark as it seems to be more laid back and less in your face, even for a theme park, than the British version.
The Battle of Hoth, for you Empire Strikes Back fans.
Denmark was sunny and dry with temperatures in the early 80's.
After a sleepless night at the Legoland hotel – some parents let their kids run up and down the hotel corridors late into the night and early in the morning, we spent half a day around the park before leaving Legoland before heading north.
No doubt there will be some amongst you thinking, Legoland? Children? I thought this was Expedition Portal!We took an easy drive from Legoland up to Hirtshalls, where we were to camp for the night before taking the ship to Iceland the next morning. Driving in Denmark was mostly a peaceful experience, roads weren't that busy and were really well maintained.
On pulling into the camp site, we met the other couple that were going on the Iceland trip with us, they were taking their LandRover Defender.
The camp site was really busy, mostly with 4x4 and camper vans to take the crossing to Iceland.
Later that evening, we all met one of the guides at a local bar and went over the forthcoming trip.
Another sleepless night to be had, mainly due to excitement and anticipation, but probably due to vehicles arriving at all times through the night.
We woke up to heavy rain the next morning, loading up and packing up our wet tent and gear, a nice send off from Denmark.
The ship to Iceland was run by the Smyril Line and had a short stop over at the Faroe Islands. It takes 2 nights to get to Iceland from Denmark.
Queuing up for the boarding of the ship, there were long queues of kitted out 4x4s and other vehicles patiently waiting to board.
All passengers had to leave the vehicles and board the ship by foot.
Boarding the ship was straight forward, but we were being packed in like sardines. Being a right hand drive vehicle, I had to shout up otherwise I wouldn't be able to get out of the Jeep. They make you park right up to the next row of vehicles with next to no room between. Left hand drive vehicles were able to easliy exit via the driver's door (being on the empty side). My driver's door was butt up to the next vehicle, they got me to park up with my driver's door next to a tiny gap between the vehicles parked next to me so that I could get out– is that clear as mud?
Cabin on the Smyril Line ship was almost identical to the DFDS ship, although a little wider.
It would do for 2 nights.
The crossing was a little rough and the girls all started to suffer from sea sickness. Sea sickness tablets didn't seem to alleviate anything and I think even made our eldest daughter vomit. I went to the duty free shop and bought them all those anti-sickness wrist bands and they did the trick, the girls were right as rain.
The rough seas departed when we arrived at the Faroe Islands.
Crowds of people up on top deck to get a glimpse of the Faroes.
After a short stop, we were finally on our way to Iceland.
Amazing rock formations on the way out of the Faroes.
One more night and we'd be in Iceland!
pixelcodex
Observer
Awesome! I had been patiently waiting for an addition to your report! Legoland is cool as well, though I have only been to the one in Florida...
Look forward to more.
Look forward to more.
JohnnyeBasta
New member
sorry mate, but you just camp along the track?!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chickenzilla/9650648901/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chickenzilla/9650648901/
jeepgc
Adventurer
No Johnny, that wasn't a track, that was the camp site
. The grassy area was for pitching the tent, that whole area was mainly ash and rocks.Here is a pic of the track, over there, to the left
Last edited:
jeepgc
Adventurer
Everyone was asked to leave their cabins 2 hours before arrival in Seyðisfjörður. Arrival time was at 0930hrs on a Thursday morning. Since space on the ship was limited, we thought we'd get out of our cabin early and head to one of the main lounge areas before everyone else did. It's great now the kids are getting older, they can carry their own stuff . When we got there, a few seats were already taken, so we managed to get a comfortable place by one of the large viewing windows, get some coffee and cake for breakfast. The other couple (Mike and Liz) joined us and later so did our guide Dawn.
Entry to Seyðisfjörður was down a really long fjord, amazing views, sadly I was too busy chatting to Mike and Liz, drinking coffee and enjoying the view to even think of taking any pics of this so sorry about that.
Smyril line don't let you get into your vehicles until 15 minutes before docking, so there was the anticipated scrum to be first, so we sat back and let everyone else go first.
If we thought the scrum to get down the stairs/lifts to the car deck was bad, getting to your vehicle was even worse. Because we were all packed in like sardines, you had to navigate a maze of gaps between the vehicles to get to yours. The gap left next to the Jeep's driver's side served us well and we all could get in, some people were not able to get into their vehicles until the row next to them had departed.
It didn't take long to disembark and we were finally on land. We drove to park up alongside Mike and Liz's Defender, met up with the other guide, Andrew in his Discovery LR4.
Iceland greeted us with sunshine and a slight autumnal chill in the air, speaking of which, even so close to the dockside, the air quality was amazing. The sun shone and even with the shipload of visitors, Seyðisfjörður had a quiet, peaceful feel to it.
We were to drive from Seyðisfjörður along the Fjarðarheiði mountain pass road 93 to stop at a supermarket at Egilsstaðir for 2 days worth of supplies. Supermarket was small, well stocked with a good range of food but a little on the expensive side compared to the UK.
We left Egilsstaðir and headed to the Sigurdarskali mountain hut and its camping ground, in Iceland's interior. The site is a very short distance from the Kverkjökull glacier. It didn't take long to leave the comfort of the tarmac roads and were soon driving over loose gravel roads.
. When we got there, a few seats were already taken, so we managed to get a comfortable place by one of the large viewing windows, get some coffee and cake for breakfast. The other couple (Mike and Liz) joined us and later so did our guide Dawn.Entry to Seyðisfjörður was down a really long fjord, amazing views, sadly I was too busy chatting to Mike and Liz, drinking coffee and enjoying the view to even think of taking any pics of this so sorry about that.
Smyril line don't let you get into your vehicles until 15 minutes before docking, so there was the anticipated scrum to be first, so we sat back and let everyone else go first.
If we thought the scrum to get down the stairs/lifts to the car deck was bad, getting to your vehicle was even worse. Because we were all packed in like sardines, you had to navigate a maze of gaps between the vehicles to get to yours. The gap left next to the Jeep's driver's side served us well and we all could get in, some people were not able to get into their vehicles until the row next to them had departed.
It didn't take long to disembark and we were finally on land. We drove to park up alongside Mike and Liz's Defender, met up with the other guide, Andrew in his Discovery LR4.
Iceland greeted us with sunshine and a slight autumnal chill in the air, speaking of which, even so close to the dockside, the air quality was amazing. The sun shone and even with the shipload of visitors, Seyðisfjörður had a quiet, peaceful feel to it.
We were to drive from Seyðisfjörður along the Fjarðarheiði mountain pass road 93 to stop at a supermarket at Egilsstaðir for 2 days worth of supplies. Supermarket was small, well stocked with a good range of food but a little on the expensive side compared to the UK.
We left Egilsstaðir and headed to the Sigurdarskali mountain hut and its camping ground, in Iceland's interior. The site is a very short distance from the Kverkjökull glacier. It didn't take long to leave the comfort of the tarmac roads and were soon driving over loose gravel roads.
jeepgc
Adventurer
Thanks Ed - design was thought out and realised by Russell Offroad and Oakleaf conversions, not sure where we would have been without them, I had some ideas, but they made them reality for us.
You'll get there someday, but you guys based in North America have got amazing scenery and places to go.
I'd love to be able to ship our Jeep over and tour N. America some time later in my life.
I'll get more stuff posted up very soon.
- design was thought out and realised by Russell Offroad and Oakleaf conversions, not sure where we would have been without them, I had some ideas, but they made them reality for us.You'll get there someday, but you guys based in North America have got amazing scenery and places to go.
I'd love to be able to ship our Jeep over and tour N. America some time later in my life.
I'll get more stuff posted up very soon.