The plan for the expedition, the first couple of days.

July 2nd: After leaving New Zealand (Auckland) on the 28th June, we will land at Kevlavik Airport, Iceland at 12.15am. We will sleep, after which we will walk to the airport to collect the rental car and do some supermarket shopping. We will probably have a look at the information centre in Reykjavik, and a look at some selected museums etc.

July 3rd: We travel south-west on Adakgata towards Reykanebraut. We ride 25.9 kilometres on this day to Grindavik, where we will hopefully soak in The Blue Lagoon.

Food

I think we will have an interesting diet in Iceland---hotdogs are a favourite with travellers apparently, but not hotdogs as we know them in New Zealand. Also many fish dishes, some of which sound exotic to say the least. Can't wait to try all the new flavours! Our starting point will be Keflavik Airport.

Grimsvotn

It's to be hoped that Grimsvotn will have stopped its nonsense by the time we go to Iceland in a month's time!! While it must be spectacular to look at we don't really want our trip to be ruined!! According to an interview with an Icelander that I saw on television yesterday, it will not be a prolonged eruption. Not exactly sure how he could tell, but maybe local knowledge knows best!! We hope so.

Tents

The tents are waterproofed, and now comes the challenge for me to be able to put them up without too much trouble and bad language!! Practice, practice, practice!!

Time is getting by quickly

43 SLEEPS TO GO TILL WE LEAVE FOR ICELAND!! Jane has printed out our itinerary, and it looks good. Some of the days involve A LOT of biking for the bikers, but there is some flexibility. We tried out some of our dried food (for use in emergencies only!!!!) and while it was tasty and filling enough, it's not the most exciting stuff!! It will definitely be kept for times when supermarkets are not available, or we run out of fresh food. I guess it's my job to make sure that we DON'T run out!!! Today's task for me is to do the waterproofing of the articles which require waterproofing. Thank goodness it can be done in the washing machine!!
I'm sorting out a few core recipes that are suitable for cooking in one big pot. We might have the odd meal out to relieve the boredom of camp food, and of course we will have to try the local Icelandic delicacies, like rotting shark, and other interesting things.
Going to practice packing today. That will definitely be minimalist........................

Here we all are from top to bottom, my sister-in-law Jane McIlroy, me, my husband Ross, and Jane's partner Jamie Owston.

The 10 litre bucket

This gives you an idea of the size of the bucket we will use for all things to do with water carrying when we're camped. Used the pen as a size guide.

The map of the trip

The red solid line is the road we'll be travelling---a distance of some 1500 kilometres over the six week period we'll be there. All I can say is:- "I"m glad I'm the car driver!!!" I hope the vehicle we hire lasts the distance, or one of us will be walking or taking the bus!!
The date we leave New Zealand is 28 June 2011. Via Frankfurt.

The stuff you find that you never knew about!!

During the course of planning this trip we have discovered quite a few products that we hadn't previously known about. For example---a folding bucket. Folds down to about the size of a muffin!! Over this weekend we're going to dry out a couple of the dried meals we'll be taking as emergency rations---or not---depending on how palatable they are, and how hungry we would have to be to eat them!
So dehydrated lamb dinner coming up this Sunday!!
We also have a folding water tank, thanks to a colleague from the Great New Zealand Trek. It's like a concertina with a tap, and will be very useful for carrying extra water for the bikers, and having a roadside tea or coffee in the wilds.
The weight of everything we take has to be considered, because the airlines love to charge excess baggage. I guess the hand luggage will be heavy!!!! It's a shame the bikes can't fit in the overhead lockers.....

The Ring Road

The Ring Road is the coastal road of Iceland. We have chosen to use a car as backup for the three main cyclists, and for transporting all the camping gear. This makes it easier for the cyclists, enabling them to travel further in a day without the weight of tents, clothing etc. While the other three are cycling I will dismantle the campsite each day, then drive at a leisurely rate to the next stop, set up the camp, prepare the evening meal, do any washing required, and await the arrival of the hungry bikers. It will be almost perpetually daylight, so sleeping may be a problem. We'll report on that later.

The beginning

Four of us decided to plan a trip to Iceland, three of us on bikes and one of us driving the support vehicle to carry all the gear, and get the camping gear set up each day.
The four of us are Jane McIlroy, Jamie Owston, Ross Marshall and me, Elizabeth Marshall, and we all live in Otorohanga, New Zealand.
Ross has had a long interest in collecting the stamps of Iceland, and has always had a desire to travel there. Over the years he and I have gathered Icelandic magazines, and books, adding to our knowledge of the country. Jane, Ross's sister and her partner Jamie also have been keen to travel in Iceland, so 2011 is the time for it all to come true. Ross, Jane and Jamie are keen cyclists, so they have the task of riding the bikes around the Ring Road, and I am to be the transport officer, tent pitcher, food preparer and forager and general dogsbody. I will probably have the occasional day on the bike---if I want to---and also take as many photos as possible to put in this blog.
The two planners in this photo are Ross and Jane.