ASKJA: Driving ON an active VULCANO!

An adventurous drive over vulcanic fields into Icelands Highlands – the heart, of the country. One of the most remote places of Iceland. Experience the jaw dropping excursion to the Askja Volcano, Öskjuvatn Lake and the stunning Viti crater.

00:00 Intro Askja
01:03 Starting our trip at Lake Myvatn
03:44 Route F88 to Askja
06:12 A lush green oasis: Herðubreiðarlindir
09:00 How to cross rivers in Iceland with your vehicle
10:16 The Canyon Carver Waterfall
11:31 Dreki – Scientist Station & Campground
13:09 Hiking on Askja Vulcano
13:54 Öskjuvatn Lake & Viti Crater
15:44 Route F910 from Askja
18:28 Driving ON the ridge of a vulcanic mountain!
20:14 Fill up at Fjalladýrð

// NEW EPISODE OUT EVERY THURSDAY 19.30 CET

// Time of the journey: August 2022

// Support my journey and help me to stay independent!
– BECOME A PATREON (and be always the first to know about my new journeys): https://www.patreon.com/got2go
– BUY ME A TANK OF FUEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/got2go

// My book GOT2GO about my solo motorcycle trip around the world is OUT NOW!
Order the paperback book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095556HPG
Order the ebook for kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092MYKGLF
Or access the book over the Amazon page of your country by searching for “Got2Go” “Lea Rieck”

// Riding a Yamaha Ténéré 700 called Fox. Bought the Fox myself in 2019 in Germany.

Watch the review of my Yamaha Ténéré 700 here:

//Equipment & Gear:
– Klim Artemis Goretex Jacket (self bought)
– BMW Pants Enduroguard (self bought)
– BMW GS Gloves (self bought)
– Raingloves from another brand (can’t remember the name and they were terrible!!!)
– Alpinestar Toucan Boots (self bought)
– Klim Krios Pro Helmet (self bought)
– Leatt Neckbrace (given to me by Leatt as my self-bought neckbrace was still in Africa)

Watch the review for my helmets here:

//Filmed with:
Drone: DJI Mavic 2 Zoom
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 rIII
2 x Go Pro Hero 8
DJI OSMO Pocket
Iphone 14
Tripod: Manfrotto BeFree
Tripod Iphone: Joby GorillaPod
Editing Program: Final Cut Pro X

//Follow me on:
https://www.instagram.com/lea_rieck
https://www.facebook.com/got2go.de/

Home

#askja #askjavulcano #got2go #learieck

– One of the most remote places of Iceland, an adventurous drive over volcanic fields into Iceland’s Highlands, the heart of the country. Experienced a jaw-dropping excursion to the Askja volcano, Oskjuvatn Lake and the stunning Viti crater. For many travelers, Lake Myvatn is a destination itself, but for us, the lake was also a hub to go on a day excursion we were super keen on doing to visit the remote and deserted Askja caldera in the Highlands. Iceland is famous for its countless beautiful sites and other-worldy landscapes,

Many of them being easily accessible through the Ring Road. But the Ring Road skips one of the most beautiful parts of Iceland: the central region of the country, called the Highlands. This part of Iceland is basically only accessible through the adventurous F-roads. The F-roads in Iceland are unpaved gravel tracks

That only open during the summer months and are only accessible in our 4×4 SUV vehicle or maybe a motorcycle. The F comes from fjalla, which means mountain in Icelandic. Askja is a stretch of volcano surrounded by absolutely nothing but a moon-like deserted landscape of lava rocks,

One of those places off the beaten track in the remote Highlands. We felt a sense of adventure in just reaching it. And to be honest, we were more keen on taking the F-roads leading to Askja than the destination itself. But with me being pretty pregnant and us knowing about the difficult sandy stretches

Of the route to Askja and several deep water crossings, we decided that we would change our motorcycle for another means of transport this day. Today we are doing a different excursion, not on the motorcycles but in this crazy car behind me and we’re going to a volcanic crater called Askja.

And this here’s our first stop to lower the tire pressure and it’s actually a explosive crater that we are in and back those days, it was used for gathering horses here by the farmers. Meet Berkel, who was our guide for this day, spiced it up with endless Icelandic charm and took us on some really adventurous F-roads. – [Lea] How much power do you let it down? – It’s about 27 in in the tires and I let it down to 15. – [Lea] Oh, okay.

And meet our vehicle that was definitely closer to the size of a monster truck than a normal SUV and a so-called super Jeep. Askja. Do you pronounce it like that? – Askja. – Askja. Okay. Here we go, 50 kilometers, another eight kilometers. But this is the biggest lava field in Iceland that’s called? – [Berkel] Eldhraun. – [Lea] I think I can’t even say that. – [Berkel] Or misty lava field. I’d say it’s 35,000 years old. You can see the gap here, the eastern part of it. That’s actually from the glacier river. Was a catastrophic eruption underneath Vatnajokull glacier. – [Lea] There are two ways to get to Askja

And we would go for both. On the way to Askja, we took the nearly 80 off-road kilometers of Route F88 that in our opinion had the more easy surface to ride a motorcycle but one water crossing that can even become impassible for trucks from time to time. So this is what happens

When you’re attempting this road alone on a motorcycle. There was an accident recently unfortunately because of the sandy roads here. So always be careful. Our guide, Berkel, told us that unfortunately, there are always a few motorcycle accidents a year on the way to Askja because many riders overestimate their skills, the length

And the difficulty of the track. According to Berkel, the most dangerous part of the track for motorcyclists is the black volcanic sand that behaves very different to all other kinds of sand that you know, for example, from deserts. The volcanic sands absorb more water and therefore, can become a very dangerous obstacle

For motorcyclists who often misjudge the difficulty because many of the stretches of deeper sand look rather short. – [Berkel] We have a lot of green because this river here, as it was, that’s just a clean spring river. – [Lea] It’s cool. Yeah, it’s very nice.

– [Travel Partner] It’s quite comfortable with the car. – [Lea] Yeah, it is very comfortable with car. ♪ Get out my tulips ♪ ♪ I talk that truth ♪ ♪ I’m actually trying to smell the roses ♪ ♪ While I’m still here ♪ ♪ I’m at the crib, oh, getting toasted ♪

♪ I’m up the dosage ♪ ♪ My mind is noise, set to blow up ♪ ♪ From how I mowed it ♪ ♪ So I could for sure start it ♪ – This is the first real stop that we’re doing. It’s called Table Mountain Springs. The Icelandic name is very, very difficult

And it’s absolutely stunning and all of a sudden, super good weather here. What is this area called? – [Berkel] Herdubreidarlindir or Tabletop Springs. – [Lea] Tabletop Springs. And there’s a campground too with the same name. – [Berkel] Yeah. – When the clouds and the morning fog disappeared, the view became wide open and we were able to see Herdubreid, Iceland’s most famous mountain. The mountain is often referred to as the queen of Icelandic mountains by Icelanders due to its beautiful shape. Because of the mountain’s steep and unstable sides,

The first ascent was in 1908 despite centuries of knowledge of its existence. Close to the Herdubreid mountain lies an oasis called Herdubreidarlindir with a campground and a hut that was built from 1958 to ’60 and sleeps 30. In former times, outcasts who had been excluded from Iceland society because of crimes they had committed lived at the oasis. One of them was Fjalla-Eyvindur,

Iceland’s most legendary outlaw who lived there during the winter of 1774 to 1775. – There’s a spring and the river goes out. You see the spring in there? – [Lea] Ah, cool. – [Travel Partner] This freezes in the winter. – [Berkel] This freezes in the winter and this is all filled up with snow. So there he had fresh drinking water all the time. Never had to go out and dig for it.

– [Lea] That’s practical. Herdubreidarlindir is an idyllic area with many springs and lush vegetation, home to unique wildlife. – You can eat them. – What’s it called again? – [Berkel] Angelica? – I think my mother uses that actually. – [Travel Partner] Yeah, it’s for cooking.

– [Lea] It’s like for medicine reason for like… – [Travel Partner] The Vikings ate this. – [Lea] Ah. – [Berkel] And then we have a lot of wild berries and lot of birds. – [Lea] Oh God, don’t fall in. You have to be fit to get your water from the spring. The area to the northwest of Herdubreid is flat and easily traversed but care should be taken not to underestimate distances and there’s also a risk of getting lost among the lava formations. This landscape is very nice. We learned not only where to best cross rivers from our Icelandic guide, but also how. Here you see the road and they say drive close to it. Never cross a river faster than walking speed. According to Berkel, most tourists in Iceland drown their cars because they drive into the water too fast.

Their speed causes a wave that floods the air intake of the car and so it dies. – [Berkel] Here is our waterfall. – [Lea] Ah. – [Berkel] Stop here. You can walk just down there. – So here’s this waterfall called the Canyon Carver and it’s called the Canyon Carver for a very good reason. I will show you why. All these flies. (waterfall rushing) So this is the waterfall.

The waterfall on F88 might not be the biggest one you will see in Iceland, but the rocks are all beautifully polished to shine. Small glacial potholes and many marks show that the riverbed ran here for a long time before it was able to dig itself this gorge.

– [Berkel] But we have this main source of earthquakes and eruptions are the volcanoes, just like Askja, how you getting some idea how far Askja actually is. I’m gonna show you on the way home a small house. The magma traveled underneath the earth for 85 kilometers and then came out

And it’s very close to the main road to start there. Community actually comes together to help and you feel that very quickly. If you’re not willing to help, you’re out. – [Lea] The last part of F88 took us over volcanic fields until we reached a crossroad with F910 leading to Dreki,

The last stop before heading to Askja and a campground that is used by travelers and scientists alike. So this is where we’re going and it looks as if it rains there. – [Berkel] People say they can see a dragon playing there. It’s active in the canyon, in the mountains ’cause in the mountains underneath, there’s a dragon placed there. – Dreki is located at the mouth of the Drekagil Gorge, just under the east side of the Dyngjufjoll Mountains. Drekagil Canyon or Drekagil Gorge is a picturesque ravine connecting Dreki huts with Lake Askja. We’re at Dreki now, which you can see in the back, and if you don’t go like we do,

This is a very good place to stay. It has some cabins. It actually as well has a campground and yeah, good place to stop over. You can hike all the way through the canyon when the hiking trails are open. We continue to drive in our car though to get closer to our main destination of the day. ♪ Another round of applause ♪ ♪ To the setting sun ♪ ♪ Let us dance away without getting anything done ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ – We are ready for our hike through the Askja crater. Up here, still snow. It’s about I think 40 minutes. We will see how that goes. – The hike led us over snow fields. Along the way, you can find several information about how the area in general and the Askja caldera in specific arose. – [Berkel] The crater just collapsed. And it took 35 years for the water to be like this. It was just melting snow and rain

Because there is no river or anything coming in. – The famous Askja volcano in the Dyngjufjoll Mountains is located on the northern side of the Vatnajokull National Park. Its main caldera was formed over 10,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age when during an eruption,

The roof of the large magma chamber collapsed in on itself, causing a depression. The result was an enormous 45-square-kilometers caldera, eight kilometers in length. In 1875, another eruption, Iceland’s largest in recent times, created a smaller 4.5-kilometer-wide caldera inside the original. The explosion spewed poisonous ash into the air, which spread across eastern Iceland,

Reaching as far as Poland. This smaller caldera is filled with Oskjuvatn Lake, one of Iceland’s deepest lake at 217 meters. We arrived at the Askja crater, actually our destination for today, at least where we wanted to go. From here, we will drive back and behind me, you can see a big collapsed crater,

Which is this big lake and this here, this surreal blue, that’s the Askja crater with sulfur water. That’s the reason for the color. Towards the end of the 1875 eruption, an explosion from Viti crater. Lying on the northeast shore of Oskjuvatn Lake, the crater is filled with a milky blue geothermal pool, which is about 25 degrees Celsius in temperature. If you are brave enough to get down the steep slopes

Of the crater, you can even have a dip in the pool, which at our time of traveling was actually closed due to the slope being too muddy and dangerously slippery. For our drive back from Askja, we took a different route, F910 that started with a drive over a black lava field

On a sandy trek. – [Berkel] Modrudalur. – [Lea] Okay, that’s where we going, Modrudalur. Definitely the most challenging part if you would do the route with a motorcycle due to very long, very sandy stretches. ♪ Away ♪ ♪ I fly ♪ ♪ Fly away ♪ – [Lea] Route F910 turned out to be even more versatile than route F88. ♪ I saw you from across the room, across the room ♪ – [Lea] And soon our guide took us off the main route to discover a beautiful green valley and to enjoy some coffee, very strong coffee, the Icelandic way. – [Travel Partner] Strong coffee. – [Lea] This is the perfect place to make a little coffee. Does this place have a name? – Ellidaardalur. – [Lea] Ellidaar. – Ellidaar. – Ellidaar. – Dalur. – Dalur. – [Travel Partner] Ah, valley. – Dalur is valley. – Yeah. – [Lea] And Ellidaar means green?

– No, it is actually the Valley of the Eagles or Eagle Valley. – Ah, Ellidaar. – Ellidaar. – Like Orn. – Orn. – Cheers. – [Lea] And this is just a spring coming out of the earth. So this is the cleanest water you can imagine. – Ponds actually just build up very close to the coastline. So people went further inland and tried to find their own land. You have very steep mountains. So the land is actually very long. Has to be very long, so you can farm it. – Freshly energized, we continued our drive.

So we’re going up this mountain now and we’re driving on the ridge, and this is a specialty of our guide here who picked this road just for us more or less? We left route F910 to approach a smaller track over a ridge of a mountain. Fun fact, our guide had only driven it halfway so far, so he actually had no clue if he would make it down again on the other side. Now we left the Highlands and we’re kind of back on safe roads. Not yet. Very soon. Route F910 eventually ends up on the easy and well-maintained F905, which means that you nearly reach the end of your Askja adventure or if you drive it the other way around, that the adventure just started

And that all the gnarly sandy roads are still far ahead of you. Oh, this is cute here. Is this like a place where you can stay too or that’s just a coffee place? – No, you can stay here. – Oh, that’s nice. – You can eat here. – It’s cool.

– [Lea] Yeah, it’s super cool. – You can do a lot of things here. – Fjalladyro is located on the edge of the northern Highlands and has been an active farm since the settlement period. Now there’s also accommodation, a beautiful cafe and restaurant and campground. Its location is unique as the highest settlement in the whole country. But we will indeed return

To this lovely place in the next episode with our motorcycles. Now we just stopped here to fill up the tires again before heading back to our recommendation at Lake Myvatn. – So we’re going back up. – [Lea] So back up from 15 to? – 35 now. – [Lea] Hello. Ah, you’re the cutest dog. The end of the day greeted us with the perfect clear blue sky. And then all the supernatural beings of Iceland decided to give us an even nicer goodbye from this amazing part of Iceland. Thank you. That was a fantastic tour. – And the end of the day is just amazing.

– It is. – As nice as it started. – No wind. – [Lea] Goodbye to this beautiful car too. – Yeah, now I have to clean it. – [Travel Partner] Yeah. (Lea chuckling) – Sorry. – Messed it up. – [Lea] Bye. Thank you so much. – Guys, next week, we will be back on our motorcycles, heading towards Iceland’s east coast. But if you enjoyed the company of our guide Berkel, the amazing journey to Askja and the adventurous drive, give this video a thumbs up first and leave a comment. And I hope to see you all next Thursday

When it’s time to GOT2GO.