ISAK 11 and 12
Our Isak-innovation, which now makes possible for anyone to go on a so called super-jeep self-drive tours in Iceland either on guided convoy tours or by individual rental, has been widely appreciated and truly exceeds our expectations.
To be able to provide more ISAKs on our convoy tours we have lately bought two more ISAKS, 11 and 12. These two vehicles were owned and operated by rescue divisions in Iceland, and therefore they‘re especially well equipped. Air lockers, all around lightning, winch etc. We had our ISAK 12, a Defender 130, further on modified to 44“ tires and a lower axle gear-ratio, resulting in a suberb snow driving ability with this practic pick-up.
These two new escorting vehicles (the guiding vehicle and the „sweeper“) should contribute to improved safety on our tours, apart of the enchanting look of the ISAK-convoy tours now!
ISAK 12:
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Travelogue: Summer Trophy 2009
The Swiss couple Ursula Junker and Jürg Walker were succesful participants on both tours of the Iceland Trophy we have run 2009 - the winter and the summer version. The impressions of the summer adventure were written down by Ursula and framed with the photos of Jürg. For all fans of the Iceland Trophy - this is a must-read!
Download the travelogue in full length
Excerpt of the text:
Sunday, 16. August: Reykjavík - Kerlingarfjöll
We all meet at the Ísafold headquarters in Garðabær: Margit and Uli from Germany, Alessandra and Manuel from Italy and ourselves from Switzerland. Our guide is Jón Baldur, who we know already from the Winter Trophy, and therefore we are already certain that also this trip will be a delight. Our vehicles are ISAK 1 to 3, Land Rover Defenders with the same equipment as in winter (38" tyres and snorkels, which we will particularly need this time). Soon we are off. Jón leads us out of the city through the area of Elliðavatn and then onto the road along the hot water pipeline to Nesjavellir. The area is full of boreholes and pipes and everywhere steam rises to the sky.
We get the first encounter with a group of Italians traveling with less impressive Land Rovers than ours. They will cross our way several times in the future. We drive on to Þingvellir, where we get our first lesson in geology and history from Jón. We ask him about Hótel Valhöll that burned down recently. They have already turfed over the area where it once stood. After our first alfresco lunch amongst trees in the National Park our adventure starts in earnest. After a short drive on road 52 we take a track towards the interior. We reduce the tyre pressure to make the ride over the bumpy track more comfortable. The weather is nice, sunshine mixed with clouds and the occasional short shower, which makes the landscape quite dramatic.
To the north we are greeted by Langjökull, which we crossed in winter in ISAKs; somehow hard to imagine now. We drive south of Skjaldbreiður, a perfect shield volcano, towards Hlöðufell. Jón continues with his geology lesson and explains why it is obvious that this mountain was born under the ice during the ice age. The area is littered with stones. Our ISAKs have a high ground clearance, but Manuel does his best to find a big one to touch with the differential. West of Hlöðufell we get a glimpse of Hagavatn at the foot of Langjökull.
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The Iceland Trophy Winter Edition - a great success
It was a cherish group of people that celebrated the great success of the first Iceland Winter Trophy at the coastal lobster restaurant “Vid Fjorubordid” on Tuesday the 3rd of March.
There was a reason enough after 5 days of self-drive traveling in the interior of Iceland under toughest conditions of snow on the Glacier Langjökull -tyre pressure down to 2,5 PSI (0.18 bar)- but also enjoying the most relaxing conditions of the various geothermal pools. From the whitest snow of the glaciers to the blackest sands on the shore –the whole spectrum of Iceland was covered.
For this unique travel there were 6 modified U-Drive Defenders from the 4x4 rental company ISAK delivered to the participants, who drove in couples in each vehicle, some being Land Rover owner at home, but some even without real skills of 4x4 driving. It took a while for the most of the people to realize, that in snowy conditions you sometimes have to release the gas pedal and use the lowest speed and the smallest torque to manage through in the snow, but sometimes it’s the question of 6th gear “lo” and full speed & power. And in some cases it’s even the “Rythm of the Rocking” that gives the best results. Actually this was nothing but a driving school by new conditions.
For photos from the tour please visit our photo gallery. An interesting article has also been published in the Land Rover Owners magazine in the UK.
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ISAK 10
The innovation that our company brings into the Icelandic tourism has been very much accepted. So despite the financial situation (economical crisis) up here in Iceland, we still added the 10th ISAK to our fleet last month (Febr. 2009). This vehicle is a little different to the 9 first ones, grey colour and roof rack.
The different colour makes this vehicle ideal for a guiding vehicle on (at the front) on convoy tours, since it can so easily be seen and recognized, especially in snowy conditions. With the roof rack on it, we accommodate many enthusiastic 4x4 travelers, who like the practical top tents on their travels through the hardy interior.