On the eastern side of Vatnsnes is a farm called Ósar (pronounced OHS-ar) where there is a seal watching site and the well-known rock formation, Hvítserkur (pronounced KVEET-sair-kur). Hvítserkur is a sea stack shaped somewhat like an elephant or dinosaur, though local lore says it is a troll with a staff. Ósar means “estuaries” and is so named because there are two large river mouths that open to the sea at that location. From the parking lot, visitors can take the path to the left out to a viewing platform for a good vantage of Hvítserkur (and seals in the water) from the top of the cliff. There is another path from the other side of the parking lot that takes visitors down to the beach, and it is there that people can usually see a very large group of seals. The seals haul out across the river from the beach. They are often also seen swimming in this entire area. Here again, if visitors are very quiet and still, curious seals will often swim quite close to look at them. This provides people the opportunity to see these beautiful animals as they gracefully and often playfully swim in the environment in which they feel most comfortable. As in the photograph above, seals can often be seen sunbathing even when the sandbar they prefer is underwater.
Please do not try to scare the seals into the water by shouting, throwing things at them, or flying drones. We want them to continue to feel comfortable hauling out here. If they are disturbed too often, they will eventually stop coming. Seals are quite afraid of drones, as are all of the local birds.