The southern two thirds of the island were set to be completely under cloud cover and heavy weather for the week. All but a few places in the North would have clear skies. So we drove from Vík í Mýrdal through Jökulsárlón to Egilsstaðir, where we hoped to have a few hours of clear sky at night. We stayed in a small cabin on an isolated horse farm in the country. The high wispy clouds, the moon, and the red lava glow in the distance made for a magic night of lights. The aurora cycled on and off from about 8pm to 2am.
The cabins are run by great hosts, Einar and Melanie. They have three children, two younger daughters and a son. They were very accommodating and booked our stay on the day of arrival, which was a important for us. We spent most of the trip roving and wandering in a Škoda wagon. Most places we stayed, outside of Reykjavik, were last minute bookings made from the road. If you're thinking about traveling here in a similar fashion in the winter we cannot overstress the need for 4-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.