When I told my friends I was heading to Iceland for work, they were suitably unimpressed. Apart from being one of the UK's classiest supermarkets, Iceland.co.uk also sports ex-soapstar/coke addict/sell-my-life-to-the tabloids Kerry Katona as it's "sleb" mascot. Once I'd gotten past the jokes about why Mums go to Iceland, I was able to explain that an all expenses paid extravaganza was awaiting me in the land of ice and snow.

For those who don't know, I work for a Christian Radio Station. Every January we run Travel Month where members of the production team get to jet off to exotic locations like Croydon for a look around and maybe some interviews.
Iceland, like many countries sitting at the top of the world at this time of year, suffers from a lack of sunlight. Sort of like London on a really bad day but with less cops.

My first morning was a real head-fuck. Normally when I wake up and it's pitch-black outside I presume it's 3am and start the two hour routine of getting back to sleep. But upon checking my phone ( I mean who has a watch these days ?? )
I find it's 8am and the streets are abuzz with 4 x 4's and at least a couple of people.

The capital city of Iceland is Reykjavik. Dubbed the nightlife capital of the north Reykjavik comes in at number 128 on the list of cities Lonely Planet recommends visiting, just pipped at the post by Antigua. From what I saw, Reykjavik is a lot like the South Island of New Zealand .. except without the bogans.

The airport reminded me of Christchurch, the countryside similar to that of Otago and the city centre just like Queenstown – overpriced and full of tourists. Yes the Icelandic peoples do work hard and play even harder .. but you'd have to when you only have 4 hours of light a day during winter. Having said that the locals speak impeccable English, they're warm, friendly and know how to work the tourist crowd.

One of the highlights of this part of the trip was the Icelandic horse-riding tour. These fat little ponies had plenty of character and were literally champing at the bit to get a bit of speed on. I felt sorry for the girls in my group though. Once these little buggers started trotting it took a lot of effort to stop my tits from wobbling – note to self .. wear sports bra. The landscape for the most part is far from picturesque. It's rocky, gray, moss covered and very "land before time-ish" . What the Vikings saw in it I don't know. Maybe their wives heard there was a new IKEA opening up or something.

I was fortunate enough to have a trip to Akureyri built in to my itinerary. This town of 16,000 is the Northern gateway to some really pretty spots including the Godafoss Waterfall. According to the Icelandic sagas, in 1,000 AD the chieftain of the local tribe threw his pagan statues into this waterfall and declared everyone in Iceland should become Christians, drink beer spiked with vodka, smoke copious amounts of cigarettes, eat whale and stay out late. Sounds like a great religion to me.

If you're thinking of going to Iceland I honestly say wait until summer, go with a group of mates and take heaps of cash .. or wait until there's a special on meat pies.

Ian Turner is a freelance travel writer for the West Norwood Tribune. He lives with his wife Paul in a converted Victorian septic tank and tends the garden in the nude.

www.iceland.co.uk
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerry_Katona
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croydon
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reykjavik
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akureyri