Tamara Oakley-Holton (Year 10)
On Friday 29th March, 35 intrepid explorers, four excited teachers and a knowledgeable tour guide boarded a flight to Iceland weighted down with their thermals, waterproofs, walking boots and sunglasses (yes you read right, not something you’d expect to need!).
The second we stepped off the flight, we headed straight to the Bridge between Continents where our tour guide Jo explained how this continental plate boundary moves apart at 3-5cm every year which adds up over 1,000s of years. It was quite surreal how we could stand with one foot on the North American plate and one foot on the Eurasian plate at the same time.
Our tour was filled to the brim visiting exploding geysers, ice cream farms, learning what columnar basalt is and experiencing what the 6.3 magnitude 2008 earthquake would have felt like in a shake house.
Over the five days I made some incredible memories, my favourite being our visit to the Gljúfrabúi Waterfall, it’s a small waterfall which is found off to the side of the famous Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, it translates to ‘dweller in the gorge’, which I believe is very fitting. To access the waterfall we had to jump on the stepping-stones in the river, trying not to lose our balance. I remember the water was spraying off the waterfall so hard, I felt like I needed windscreen wipers on my glasses! As a geography student I found this trip eye opening, I felt like an explorer navigating my way through a foreign land, discovering all of their hidden gems; it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.
Holly Smith (Year 11) adds: From walking up a volcano to taking a dip in the Blue lagoon, we had so many fantastic experiences in Iceland as we put our geography skills into action. However, the highlight of the trip for me would have to be Gullfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls. Paired with the sunshine and snow, the sights at Gullfoss were magical, and after climbing 370 steps up to the top of Skogafoss, my breath was actually taken away by the view!
