Driver-guides

Haukur Parelius  ‘Hawk’

Hawk is our proprietor, driver guide & certified 4×4 instructor. Haukur ‘Hawk’ Parelius
Hawk is a certified International 4-Wheel Drive Trainer and member of Int. 4-Wheel Drive Trainer’s Association. He has trained military forces and worked for ISAF in Afghanistan as well as having years of experience from exploring the Icelandic wilderness and highlands. He claims he has the best view from his office – the front windshield of his modified Nissan Patrol.
Wilderness background:  At the age of 14 he was the first to bicycle from Reykjavik to Thorsmork and started guiding for The Iceland Touring Association at the age of 17. He has been guiding for them and Utivist Travel Association occasionally through the years, both on hikes and jeep safaris. For the past decade or so he has been a member of a voluntary Mountain Search & Rescue team, training younger members in ice climbing, winter traveling etc as well as adding to his own knowledge and skills. He is a certified Wilderness First Responder and regularly freshens up on his first aid skills.
Education: Business degree from University of Iceland and a Master’s degree in International Marketing and Management from Copenhagen Business School.
Job experience: Business consultant, both privately and for IBM Business Consulting, Marketing Director for Husasmidjan (Large Icelandic DIY retailer) and Account Manager for the Icelandic Advertising Agency.
Past Adventures: He has successfully climbed 5 of the 7 summits and climbed in the Alps and the Himalayas. One of his proudest adventures is a rafting adventure/documentary film expedition with his mountain friends-group through the Dark Canyon (Dimmugljufur) in North-east Iceland. Haukur and his son learned to dive together on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, he has rafted the Nile in Uganda, driven a Super-Jeep in Afghanistan for the peacekeeping units (ISAF/NATO), and visited the mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

Anna Shvarova – Travel planning & incentives

Anna is Nature Explorer‘s travel planner and will usually be your main contact person. She is responsible for all the details which are so important in order to make your Iceland visit smooth and enjoyable. Anna has a Anna, Iceland travel planner at Nature ExplorerMaster’s degree in international relations and has experience in diplomatic institutions in both Greece and Cyprus. Her background has ranged across human service field, marketing and business spheres, company management, tourism planning and development.  Anna has experience beyond her years.
Anna has passion for art painting. She often embodies the beautiful nature of Iceland in her art. She has already had few international exhibitions in Iceland and abroad, but Iceland with all its manifestations inspires her art more and more. Her creativity and intuition mixed with professional skills and high level of responsibility plays an integral part in making your journey in Iceland an unforgettable experience.  Anna’s goal is to give the best service to our clients, plan and design an excellent time for your Iceland adventure according to your needs and wishes.

Ársæll Hauksson ‘Asi’ – Driver-guide

Asi was born in Reykjavik in middle of the last century. He has lived in Iceland his entire lifetime.  He made driver guiding his main occupation 10 years ago after traveling extensively around Iceland for many years. As with all our guides, his love of Iceland’s nature has set his path.  Asi’s main interests are Icelandic history, geology, glaciers, and super jeeps. You’re in good hands with Asi who has been traveling with tourists in Iceland for years and still enjoys sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for our unique country which is full of lava fields, glaciers, hot springs, desert sands, volcanoes and black beaches. Asi’s favorite ice cap is Langjokull and the number times he has visited that glacier is uncountable – but he still loves the adventure and you will benefit from both his knowledge, experience and enthusiasm. Asi is professional tourist guide from The Iceland tourist guide academy. Asi is married to Helga and they live close to Iceland’s president, in the outskirts of Reykjavik.

Ingi Mar Gretarsson – Driver-guide

Ingi was born and raised in Reykjavik but the summers were spent on a farm Ingi Marin the countryside. Early on he got to know Iceland. From the age of 20 Ingi has owned a 4×4 and since then always been around cars; modifying SUV’s, consulting on modifications and in his free time taking part in the Icelandic Rally sport. However, you don’t have to worry about him – or any of our driver-guides driving like in a rally – we’re too fond of our Super-Jeeps (and usually our clients too 🙂 We – and our clients – benefit from Ingi’s experience in both tourism and 4×4’s. For the last 12 years he has been working in the tourism in Iceland.

 

Finnur P. Frodason ‘Finn’ – Photo & driver-guide

Finn is our “grand old man” and is Hawk’s father. Born and educated in Denmark as an interior architect he moved to Iceland immediately after receiving his degree. He has always been interested in anything Nordic and Arctic and feels most alive in the wilderness – so the Icelandic highlands fit him perfectly. Finn soon joined Air – Ground Search & Rescue and started hiking with The Iceland Touring Association where he has been guiding on various hikes for years (“decades” would be a more appropriate unit of measurement – sorry dad 🙂 On his own he has traveled across most of Iceland, hiking and or driving in his 4×4 and often with way too much photo gear. Finn has been an avid photographer since the age of 15 and he´s had 3 photo exhibitions in Reykjavik. Finn is our most experienced hiking guide and the natural choice when we plan our photo tours in Iceland. He has had a 4×4 for years and like all of our driver guides he has a commercial driver’s license. His photo equipment consists of a Mamiya 645, Hasselblad X-pan and couple of new Canon’s, printing on a Canon IPF 5000. Finnur has a degree as a guide from University of Iceland.

We have a few more driver-guides who work with us regularly and others who are free-lancers so we can take larger groups. We only use driver-guides who are safe drivers with good knowledge of Iceland and have years of experience.

Super-Jeeps

We take pride in our 4×4´s which we use all year round on both professional and private tours. Therefore they are very well maintained and equipped with all the necessary safety equipment; a VHF-radio, a Global Positioning System (GPS), first aid kit, shovel, ropes etc. – and being guys, of course we have a weakness for gizmos, so look out for seat eject buttons and other extra buttons not found in a standard 4×4.
The jeeps are modified for difficult conditions, to cross fast flowing glacial rivers, driving on the rough mountain tracks, in deep snow and cruising glaciers. The most noticeable modification is of course the big tires. These big tires have several advantages; they elevate the vehicle from the ground so when crossing rivers, most of the water flows under the body of the car. They also help climbing steep river banks and other obstacles. Another important benefit of large tires is that when deflated they provide great flotation on snow. A 4×4 Super Jeep with 2psi air pressure in the tires actually weighs less per square inch than a man walking. Most of our Super-Jeeps have seats for 6 passengers but we recommend maximum 5 fully grown adults for best comfort. If you need a larger vehicle, check out our Extra Long Super-Truck on the next tab.

Extra Long Super-Truck

Like our super-jeeps it’s modified for difficult conditions, to cross fast flowing glacial rivers, driving on the rough mountain tracks, in deep snow and cruising glaciers. The most noticeable modification is of course the big tires. These big tires have several advantages; they elevate the vehicle from the ground so when crossing rivers, most of the water flows under the body of the car. They also help climbing steep river banks and other obstacles. Another important benefit of large tires is that when deflated they provide great flotation on snow. Specially outfitted for photo tours and larger families, our Extra Long Super-Truck is a Ford F350 which has been extended so it can carry up to 10 passengers (but we recommend max 9 fully grown adults and only having 2 passengers in the backest row).