Travel to Iceland in luxury

PERCHED ON THE edge of the Arctic, straddling two tectonic plates, Iceland is a hot spot of volcanic activity. And one eruption in 2010 put it firmly on the map. The volcano deep beneath the Eyjafjallajökull glacier burst into life, disrupting world air traffic and becoming a household name - though nary a globalista could pronounce it.

Far from deterring visitors, Eyjafjallajökull boosted tourism; last year, a record 600,000 people visited a country inhabited by just 320,000 people.

Sixty per cent live in or near Reykjavik in the southwest and though they may be descended from Vikings, nature controls Iceland with its ancient mosscovered lava fields, smouldering geothermal areas, and mammoth glaciers.

In summer, the sun barely sets, and in winter, the fabled northern lights dance across the technicolour sky.

While natural disasters are a familiar occurrence in Iceland, the global financial crisis of 2008 left it reeling.

Three major banks collapsed and the country plunged into recession. But its people are nothing if not resilient. In the wake of the economic fall out, Sveinn Sigurður Kjartansson launched Iceland Luxury Tours, offering private tours in a customised super jeep.

"We can arrange a chef to cook you a gourmet meal on a glacier, or combine a super jeep tour with a helicopter flight, landing on Eyjafjallajökull's still-steaming new lava fields," he says.

Some of Iceland's many sublime sights are simple day trips from the capital - Thórsmörk, a hauntingly beautiful valley 130 kilometres southeast of Reykjavik, is such a place.
Named after Thor, Norse god of thunder, it is surrounded by three glaciers - Eyjafjallajökull, Mýrdalsjökull and the mighty Katla rumbling below. The volcano erupts every 40 to 80 years - and is overdue. "The last big eruption was 1918," says Kjartansson. "If you thought Eyjafjallajökull affected air traffic imagine what Katla could do."
The valley is dotted with huge boulders, remnants of centuries-old eruptions, but Kjartansson's Toyota Land Cruiser makes light work of the lunarlike surface. He drives more gingerly on the black ash-filled lagoon at the base of the Gigjökull outlet glacier.

Melted water from Eyjafjallajökull caused flash floods, filling the lagoon with volcanic matter and leaving it unstable, like quicksand in parts. Our tour ends with a fine lobster feast at Fjöruborðið, a cosy seaside restaurant renowned for creamy lobster soup and sautéed langoustine tails.

The Golden Circle tour visits Thingvellir National Park, a series of spouting geysers and the thundering Gullfoss waterfall. Thingvellir is steeped in history: the Vikings established the world's first democratic parliament in AD 930. You can also witness the earth's crust tearing apart, as tectonic plates slowly separate.

Thrill seekers can drive snowmobiles across Langjökull, Iceland's second- largest glacier. Getting there is half the fun; the isolated mountain pass is thick with snow and only accessible by super jeeps with one metrethick tyres in extra-low gear. "We reduce tyre pressure so we almost float on snow," says Kjartansson. Once there, we tentatively set off on snowmobiles, and soon throttles down, we dart across the frozen ice.