Waterfalls, glaciers and geysers in Iceland

THE only thing missing on an Ice Age 4-inspired experience to spectacular Iceland's natural wonders is the woolly mammoth, writes Neala Johnson.

escape dec 30 Iceland

IF YOU'RE going to try to live the Ice Age 4: Continental Drift experience as Manny, Diego and Sid do in the popular animated movie, Iceland is the place to do it.

Most of the island nation's mind-blowing landscape  - valleys, fjords, craters, waterfalls, canyons and mountains was carved out in the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago. Valleys are dotted with rocks left behind by long-melted glaciers. Mountains, such as the 915m-tall Esja, were formed by layers of lava. Active volcanoes still simmer under 400m-thick glacier ice. And talk about Continental Drift -  the cracks between continental plates can literally be driven through here. The only thing missing is the woolly mammoth, the sabre-tooth tiger and the sloth. In fact, the only animals spied on this adventure are a few sheep and Iceland's pony-sized horses, a pure breed brought to the island 1100 years ago by Vikings. "The only indigenous animal in Iceland is the arctic fox," says Pall Davidsson, the glacier expert along for today's ride. "If you really want to see animals, the birds are amazing. The variety, especially on the coast, makes it very popular with birdwatchers." That would explain the brisk trade in plush puffins at every souvenir shop in the country. But bird watching is far too genteel a pursuit for Villi, the man behind the wheel of our "super Jeep", the modified monster that takes us from the paved roads of central Reykjavik to hanging sideways off a cliff of volcanic rocks. This would be a 4WD paradise, were off-roading not illegal in Iceland. "We have a long twilight zone; the day comes in slowly and fades out slowly," says Villi as we set off while it's still dark. It makes for beautiful sunrise on this chilly October day. As we head inland, farms make way for the lunar-like landscape that has made Iceland such a drawcard for movie productions, from Ridley Scott's Prometheus to next year's Tom Cruise sci-fi flick, Oblivion. Our first stop is Gullfoss, not the biggest waterfall in Iceland (that honour goes to Dettifoss, as immortalised in Prometheus), but one of the prettiest, with multiple "stairs" for the freezing water to cascade down. Torn away from Gullfoss's hypnotic gushing, we make our way to the base camp of adventure tour company Mountaineers of Iceland. Five layers of clothes is not enough, so we stuff ourselves into onesies, pull snow boots over our shoes and cram our hands into heavy-duty gloves. It's time to hit the glacier. Villi fangs it across the rocks towards Langjokull as the Mission: Impossible theme tune blares from the speakers. Langjokull is Iceland's second-biggest glacier at 953sq m. (The biggest, Vatnajokull, is eight times the size, covering 8 per cent of the country.) Its average ice thickness is 400m  - but in the ice age, it ran 2km deep, ice reaching to the top of the mountains that surround us. Here, we lunch as the Icelandic do. Well, probably not. Sushi on a glacier. Soup that doesn't stay hot very long. And bottles of cola stuck in the ice like a marketer's dream come to life. After lunch, Davidsson calls hush and asks us to listen to the sounds of the glacier. "This is a world that is haunted by the sound of the wind, the sounds of water, the sounds of the glacier itself as it moves and cracks." Davidsson's aim is to bring attention to how vital Iceland's great reserves of ice are. His big call to action will take place next September, when he plans to illuminate Vatnajokull with a symphony of music and lights and broadcast the show to the world (See voxnaturae.org). "Today ice covers 10 per cent of the Earth, but it is still crucially important to our lives  - even though we may not live in Iceland, even if we are far removed from it," he says. As the weather turns and the snow falls, we're rushed off the glacier. It's only the next day an overheard conversation reveals that several cracks were forming further in. "Eruptions, earthquakes, avalanches ... it's part of our daily life in Iceland," Villi had said earlier. Falling down a glacial crevasse will not be part of ours. On the road back to Reykjavik is a stop-off known as Geysir, where  - the name gives it away  -  hot water bubbles out of holes in the ground. (Fun fact: geyser is the only Icelandic word to have entered the English language.) The biggest of the geysers performs every five to seven minutes, spitting water 30m into the air. Villi warns us not to step into the holes: "It only takes a couple of minutes for a hot spring to boil a normal tourist." But across the road, it's perfectly safe to dip into Hotel Geysir's geothermal swimming pool. It's almost surreal to swim as the snow falls. We dry off in time to fit in a bit of plush-puffin shopping in the huge souvenir store, followed by a classy dinner in the hotel restaurant. On the drive back to Reykjavik, Villi takes questions on all things Icelandic, from Bjork to mythical creatures. "Eighty per cent of Icelanders believe in supernatural things," he says as we head into the night, eyes peeled for any sign of fairies, trolls or elves. But they prove just as elusive as Manny, Diego and Sid. -- The writer was a guest of Twentieth Century Fox. Ice Age 4: Continental Drift is available on Blu-ray 3D and 2D and DVD, among other formats. -- -- Go2 - ICELAND - Getting there SAS (flysas.com) flies from Sydney to Reykjavik via Bangkok and Copenhagen. It also flies direct to Reykjavik from Oslo. Icelandair (iceland air.com) flies to Reykjavik from 10 locations in North America and 23 in Europe. - Staying there Rates for the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica start at $75 a night. See hiltonreykjavik.com - Doing there Mountaineers of Iceland (mountaineers.is) offers day tours including snowmobile adventures, Northern Lights hunts and glacier and volcano visits. Pall Davidsson's epic event to bring awareness to the impact of climate change on glaciers will take place on the Vatnajokull glacier in September next year. See voxnaturae.org -- "Like" Escape.com.au  on Facebook Follow  @Escape_team on Twitter