Hi fellow nature fans. Winter is coming... unfortunately. While it's not my favorite season, there's certainly a beauty to all of the snow and winter skies. Last year we took a trip to Iceland in February and it was like a whole different world compared to our first trip in the summer.
There are two main reasons we wanted to return to the country in winter, and those two reasons you can not see in summer. The first reason is because we wanted to see the northern lights. That was something on both mine and my wife's bucket list. In the summer, there is no nighttime which means there is no northern lights. The second reason is to see glacier ice caves. The caves become too unstable and dangerous in the summer. The collapse almost every summer and new ones need to be discovered for the winter season.
I'm an animal guy, and I certainly wasn't expecting to see any wildlife in Iceland, especially in the winter. Iceland doesn't have a ton of native animals, asides from a healthy bird population. Mostly you just see sheep and horses EVERYWHERE. With that being said, it was a cool surprise to come across a few reindeer, like the fella trotting along in the photo above.
As I mentioned in a past Daily Nature Fix post at some point concerning winter in Iceland, the ice was much more blue colored compared to winter. The same glaciers we saw in the summer were mostly all white, but in the cold temperatures they were blue. The one pictured above is Vatnajökull.
In the dead of winter, Iceland only has around 5 hours of daylight. When we were there in February, it was closer to 9 or 10. We saw a few nice sunsets while we were there.
***These daily blogs showcase the natural world. It is all original content using photos, stories, and experiences from my own travels.*** Thanks for reading! I post a nature-themed Daily Nature Fix blog every day. Please upvote if you enjoyed it and resteem if you found it especially interesting! Be sure to follow me @customnature so you'll never miss out on your nature fix! See you tomorrow. - Adam
It's cool that you found a reindeer. What food is there for it to eat?
That's a good question, actually @mattt. lol I there are a lot of grasses/shrubs that pop through the snow, but only in certain areas. I'm assuming that's what they end up munching on..
At some point in the future, I will see the Northern Lights! Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the read.
Be sure that you do, @cyncarlton.... it has been a highlight of my life. An incredible experience.
Thanks customnature for your lovely post. I am also a nature lover and I love winter. Maybe it is because I am from Asia so here we have long summers and short winters. After reading your post I think I will have to put Iceland on my bucket list too.
I hope you guys had great experience. Have you been to Asia?
I would recommend Iceland to be on EVERYONE's bucket list. the place is magical. I have not been to Asia... YET. Have plans on visiting Bali next year, then China the following. I live in the US, but Iceland has been my favorite place to visit so far. I hope you do make it there someday, @theafroguy!
Oh that's great. I hope you would love Bali. This summer I went to singapore so it was really a good and life lasting experience.
Yeah definitely Iceland is on my bucketlist.
Thanks for sharing this... Iceland seems like such a beautiful place; even though some think it bleak and desolate. I have never actually been there, but the photos I have seen are awesome... almost otherworldly; like a different planet. Would love to visit one day,
"Otherworldly" is a perfect description of Iceland, @denmarkguy... and it's one I use myself when talking about the country. We travel a decent amount and have yet to go to a place quite like Iceland. Though the weather is a bit gray in the winter especially, it changes rapidly. The locals often say "If you don't like the weather in Iceland... just wait 5 minutes." We had several nice, sunny days on that same winter trip. This photo was taken the following day as these.
Iceland - My dream land.
I truly hope you can make that dream into a reality, @vanessaondine!
This place looks like from a game of thrones escene hahaha
Actually, several of the "north of the wall" scenes were shot right behind me from where I was standing when I took this photo @malos10. I've been to a few GoT filming locations in Iceland and Ireland, not intentionally really, but I plan on making a post showing them in the near future.
Looks beautiful and yet cold and bleak,
Fortunately, here in Tasmania we are in early spring :-)
It was on some days, and on others it was sunny and quite nice (still cold though, of course). I'd love to go to Tasmania.... and I will in the future. 👍
Good publicitie to your country, it so beautifull place to visit i will do it one day.
plasticity is very interesting to try
Ummmm....... what?
I like
@customnature Iceland looks really cool! The first picture is breathtaking! If i ever go to Iceland I'll be sure to go in the winter so I can see the northern lights -- thanks for sharing!