To Geelong, From On Top Of The World
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To Geelong, From On Top Of The World

What’s on your bucket list? Coachella? House? Kids? Eating your weight in donuts without gaining the ‘kgs? The dream, right? But I want to ask you this. Why do you have a bucket list? You could be doing it right now. You could be making and banking the memories instead of scrolling through google images. You could be in the moment, not daydreaming about the ‘some’ day.
So, I’m writing this from Iceland (name drop #sorrynotsorry). I’ve just walked the top of a crater that’s 3,500 years old. That’s almost as long as it’s been since I last stepped into my gym. And I’m feeling it. Every step up the side of the volcano wall is a painful reminded that my ass has been in hibernation WAAAY to long.
And this is where I will sound like a hypocrite. I’ve wanted to go to Iceland since I was 13. It’s so hilariously odd that Iceland is green and Greenland is ice. Explorers were clearly taking the piss when they stepped foot on these lands and they were brainstorming names. But it’s a place that’s so far removed from the world that it intrigues me. So I packed my suitcase and I booked my return flights.
Here’s the facts. Iceland is a country of 330,000 people – they have five times that in visitors. University students in the country developed an app for residents to avoid that awkward “so you’re actually my second cousin… ummm… want a lift to family lunch Sunday” conversation. Again, they clearly have a sense of humour because the tagline for the app is “Bump the app before you Bump in bed”.
It’s the land of Vikings, the midnight sun, volcano’s and tectonic plates. The wide sweeping views are breathtaking. The country, not that much bigger than Tasmania, is for the most part untouched. Yet they are progressive as a nation.
80 per cent of their heating is naturally produced by geothermal plants (that’s hot water from the ground for all of you playing at home). Iceland had the first democratically elected Female President in the world, back in 1930 and since then has had the first all female political party. Still on politics, they elected the FIRST openly homosexual Head of Government. Now how’s that for inclusion and progress.
They were the first nation with less than 350 thousand people to qualify for the European Championship and the World Cup in football. Remember the images? How euphoric were the people of Iceland and the players when they beat Kosovo to get through to the 2018 World Cup. They were the first nation to legalise clinical abortion and to this date, Iceland is both the first, and ONLY country to jail its bankers after the 2008 international banking crisis. Impressive for a small country, right.
Ok so now you have an insight into why I am here. I love a country with depth. I am also a sucker for volcano’s, fjords and waterfalls. I can’t get enough; it’s my kryptonite, which is why I didn’t leave it on some list. I did it now. A bucket list is just a wish list. But why wish it when you can just do it (or when money allows… we’ve all been on the rice and peas uni diet).
Stampsy’s on the socials so give her a follow @lee_stamps on Instagram & StampsyKROCK on Facebook
Stampsy is the Music Director and Drive Announcer at K Rock in Geelong