Info on GOP-xcursions

1^st Page Oh! What a day!	Iceland is the Exotic North Join the *GOP-excursion* driving your own car - or a rented car - or as a passenger. See what's on the schedule or mail to: gop@simnet.is
Images from thoughts and places	< On top of the glacier Hofsjokull On the move in the winter Look here for pictures and text!
Table of content	If you like plain text - then here it comes: The GOP Iceland-excursion: *The GOP-club and GOP-course* Where do we go? - Wherever - whenever! When? In all the four seasons What is an adventure? An Icelandic travel-adventure is a cross-country tour Expect no trees Mostly you will find that Iceland is different Summer The road around Iceland .. some like it hot .. Winter
The GOP-course	The GOP-club is a key to your dreams come true! The GOP-courses is for travellers prone for adventure and the exotic north. Some like to join as passangers and other bring their own 4x4-jeeps or jeeplings or drive a hired car. Some expeditions are designed for the common 4x4-vehicle with no need for bigger tires. Others are meant for rougher terrain, deeper rivers, quicker sand and the glaciers. Common sense tells the owner of an expensive 4x4-vehicle that it is the sheer nonsense to take unprepared to the hazardous tracks. Indeed people have lost their cars, their equipments and some have even lost their lives on such a trek. But of course the dream of every owner of a 4x4-vehicle is to enjoy it and use it and thus get the chance to get off the beaten track and experience exotic moments in the heart of the wilderness and on a mountaintop. He wants to realize the potential of the 4x4-feature. The safe way to do so is to assign for the GOP-course.
Adventure?	Is it adventure you want? A real one? What is an adventure? An adventure in Iceland is a blend of many unexpected experiences and rich moments. You have to become active in solving various problems, and be ready to return home filled with memories of extraordinary times. A good adventure rewards everyone's contribution with memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. No, the purpose of a trip is not to get from point A to point B.
Cross- country tour	An Icelandic travel-adventure is a cross-country tour. It may be half a day but it better be at least a whole day. Even if the country is not so big one should account for some 2 hours to get into the real wilderness. In wintertime it may take considerably more time. Crossing the country one way from the south coast to the north coast can be made in some 10 to 12 hours in summertime while all the goings are good. In wintertime there is no guaranteed success of such a trip.
No trees	Along the shore the country is mostly grown with grass but as soon as you get into the real highland the tour goes through country of lava and sand. Even if the Icelanders are apt at growing trees you mostly wont see any - out of towns and farms. If you stand up on a mountain top your view is to the end of the world in the crisp and clear air - without any dust or pollution - and certainly there are no trees to obstruct your view.
Iceland is different	Mostly you will find that Iceland is different. You can drive the main road up to a moving glacier. If you follow a mountain track you are bound to ford rivers. Some rivers are crystal-clear and splutter with joy, other rivers are brown and filled with sediments from the glacier, shocking you with their awesome current and looming perilous danger. Many a traveler has had his fill with an encounter of such a river. Iceland's interior is a marvelous contrast of colors and terrain. In some places beautiful mountains paint the landscape, while elsewhere majestic glaciers stand against time. Steep hills, cascading waterfalls, glacial rivers, and forests of small trees all await the traveler.
Summer	In summertime the interior of Iceland is mostly without snow or ice and it is possible to drive many trails into and throughout the mountains. Keen drivers can make their way onto the glaciers, watching out for glacial rifts that can easily swallow a car. Up in the highland there are open rivers to cross. Sometimes you must search for a suitable ford - and especially if you are out of the beaten track - very often only the best of cars can be trusted to get through - provided a specially trained wader has found an acceptable pass for the crossing. He has to feel for and estimate the steepness at the banks, the depth and the current of the river and how solid the riverbed is. One has to realize that Icelanders themselves see it as a sound decision to turn back from a river that simply does not look good enough.
The road around Iceland	Iceland has a paved road circling it. Most roads in the country are paved and have bridges over rivers, until you get into the highlands. Many of Iceland's magnificent places are therefore in easily accessible parts of the country.
Some like it hot ...	If you drill a hole into the ground for cold water - be prepared for it to be hot! In Iceland there are pools in the smallest of towns. Even in the most remote places you can often find warm-water springs that have been built up or even made into real swimming pools--with no houses around.
Winter	In winter, when snow covers the country, it is possible to drive almost anywhere. The snow alters the landscape so that one is able to drive upon mountains that in summertime are much to steep. You can, for example, drive upon the volcano Hekla, but it better not be erupting! Crossing open rivers in wintertime is quite another thing than in the summer. When the thermometer is way down below zero one encounters ice and snow that make the crossing all the more an art of negotiation with nature. The trained wader must here account for ice banks and swelled waters with great parts of ice and freezing icicles that swiftly fasten under the car when it clears the river, hem its movements and steering abilities and weigh it down. Winter offers wonders of virgin nature. Bright moonlight and the symphony of colors during dawn and dusk paint the mountain peaks, captivating the traveler In wintertime there is more snow on the glacier. As a result, most of its rifts is filled up and may be forded by truck, but beware of the dangers!

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Iceland is the Exotic North

Iceland is the
Exotic North