Iceland Walking Tour - Reykjanesviti [4K]

Walking to Reykjanesviti lighthouse in Iceland and seeing the last nesting place of the extinct Great Auk.
Information about the tour:
00:30 - Reykjanesviti lighthouse stands on the top of a hill in the distance.
07:20 - Far away in the ocean is Eldey island. Its sheer cliffs are home to large numbers of birds, including one of the largest northern gannet colonies in the world, with around 16,000 pairs. The island formerly supported the last remnant population of the flightless great auk, after the birds moved there from Geirfuglasker following a volcanic eruption in 1830.
When the colony was discovered in 1835, almost fifty birds were counted. Museums, desiring the skins of the auk for preservation and display, quickly began collecting birds from the colony. The last pair, found incubating an egg, were killed there in June 1844, when Icelandic sailors Jón Brandsson and Sigurður Ísleifsson strangled the adults and Ketill Ketilsson accidentally cracked the last egg of the species with his boot during the struggle
12:45 - The Reykjanes power station. A geothermal power station that generates 100MWe from two 50MWe turbines.
18:25 - Valahnúkur mountain straight ahead.
23:18 - This is Valahnúkamöl. A high boulder ridge composed of well rounded stones. The ridge is about 420 m long, 80 m wide and 10 m high. The rounded stones are 1-3 feet thick. Created by powerful storms, high waves and surf.
24:29 - The cliff in the sea is Karlinn ("The Man"). A 50-60m high seacliff.
27:47 - The first lighthouse in Iceland was built on Valahnúkur mountain in 1878. It was brought into use on 1 December of that year. The lighthouse was octagonal, 4.5m in diameter and 6.2m high. It was constructed using dressed Icelandic dolerite. The thickness of the walls appears to have been 1m. The lantern on the lighthouse was octagonal like the building and had a copper covering. Below the lantern were living quarters for two lighthouse keepers who guarded the light while it was on, from 1 August to 15 May each year. The lighthouse burned an average of 16 barrels of oil a year.
The lighthouse was severely damaged in an earthquake on 28 October
1887. There were extensive rock-falls from Valahnúkur, and all the lamps and mirrors in the lighthouse fell to the floor. The next night, it was impossible to turn the lighthouse on. By 1905, the earthquakes and erosion had had such an effect on the mountain that there was a risk that the lighthouse would topple into the sea. The lighthouse keeper, moreover, was afraid to stand watch in the lighthouse, as it was only 10m from the edge. As a result, the decision was made to build a new lighthouse on Vatnsfell. This lighthouse is still standing. The old lighthouse was demolished on 16 April 1908. The rocks here on the right are the remains of the old lighthouse. The ruins on the left are the remains of the lighthouse's storage building.
28:24 - The Reykjanes lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse currently standing on Icelandic shores and was lit on 20 March 1908. The lighthouse is the first major construction embarked on after Icelanders were granted home rules by Denmark on 1 December 1904. The lighthouse is a cylindrical tower, 9m in diameter at the bottom and 5m at the top. It is 20m in height and stands on a broad 2.2m foundation. The lantern houseing is 4.5m high, making the total height of the lighthouse 26.7m. The walls are double-layered. The exterior is made of dressed stone, while the interior is concrete. The thickness of the walls at the footings is 3.2m and is 1.2m at the top. The initial lamp ran on kerosene, and its light was magnified with a 500mm rotation lens. This was a clockwork device, run on weights that the lighthouse keeper winched up on a regular basis. A gas device was installed in the lighthouse in 1929, and the pressure of the gas was used to rotate the lens. The lighthouse was converted to electricity in 1957. There has been a resident lighthouse keeper since the beginning of lighthouse
operation, or from 1878 to 1999. The current lighthouse keeper's house was
built in 1947. The keepers were also farmers, and signs of farming activities can be seen in many locations, such as the ruins of older buildings and stone walls.
31:05 - Geirfugl is a 1,57m high sculpture by Todd McGrain depicting the now extinct Great Auk.
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Equipment I use:
Camera: GoPro Hero 7 Black
Gimbal: Zhiyun Smooth 4
Boots: Dr. Martens Unisex Crazy Horse Chelsea Boot
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