Volcano chasing

Over the past few months, I've taken full advantage of living within the Pacific Ring of Fire and experienced up-close some real-life, active volcanoes.

Port Vila = surrounded by volcanoes. Plenty to choose from!

Now those of you who know my history with active volcanoes may be wondering why I would choose to deliberately tempt fate and seek out these amazing natural wonders. (Those who don’t – multiple flight cancellations on previous travel adventures due to both the Iceland volcano in 2010 and Chile volcano in 2011). An attempt to make amends with the volcano gods maybe?

I started small, with an extinct volcano on the island of Nguna. Not much chance of this baby erupting. A beautiful trek up the side of the volcano, followed by a tour of the rim, and a walk inside the crater, which is now a lush garden filled with coconut palms and water taro. We did hear some stories of locals kayaking within the crater after large amounts of rain, and some rogue chickens that were released by villagers inside the crater in the hope they would breed. We saw no evidence of either of these, and I think the ni-vans were just having a laugh at our expense. But there were some amazing views of Efate and the Shephard Islands from the top. Ok, tick that one off the list.

On the rim - lush garden inside the crater and 360 degree island views

Chilling out inside the crater with the crew

Next challenge, the island of Ambrym, which has two active volcanoes accessible on foot, Benbow and Maroum. Both volcanoes on Ambrym are known more for their amazing ash plains than their spectacular eruptions, although I have heard that Maroum is one of the most active volcanoes in Vanuatu. There is a history of several destructive eruptions per century, the last big one being in 1913 which wiped out the hospital and caused mass evacuation. Statistics not looking good, but “when in Vanuatu”, right? Our two-day trek commenced with a few hours walking across the most amazing desert landscape of the ash plane, along ridges and through valleys. The silence was absolute, not a living plant or animal in sight. 

Like walking on another planet

Amazing trekking scenery

A gruelling climb up the side of Benbow resulted in a view straight across the crater (although it was too smoky to see too far down). But it was Maroum volcano, another hour or so walk away, that truly mesmerised us. We were extremely lucky with the weather – blue skies and a light breeze to clear the smoke from the lava bubbling away below. A clear view across the crater and down 200 metres or so to a pulsing, bubbling sea of red. I found it more relaxing than scary, and even our guides said we were very lucky to have such a clear view. After a night camping on the ash plain, we continued our trek north on Day Two, leaving a red glow in the sky behind us.

Endless ash plain

How's this for a campfire? Good luck toasting marshmallows on this one!

Ok, not so bad. Maybe the volcano gods are pleased with my peaceful offerings. The third and ultimate challenge: Mt Yasur volcano on the island of Tanna. I decided to take Shelley for the ride on this one (I do not take responsibility, she knew full well of my history with volcanoes prior to agreeing to take this trip with me!) It all started to turn pear-shaped two weeks before we were due to go (just two days after I had booked our flights to Tanna of course) with a security alert from my In-Country Manager stating that Yasur volcano is off limits until further notice due to an increase in volcanic activity. It had been upgraded from a Level 2 to a Level 3 – moderate to large eruptions, and danger near the crater. Hmm… Maybe I jumped the gun a bit on curing my volcano luck. We decided to still go to Tanna and hope that by the time we got there, it wasn’t quite so angry.

Mt Yasur - looking serene and harmless from this angle

After some conflicting reports on whether the danger level had been downgraded again or not, we took a chance (and some advice from some locals who seemed to be in the know) and took a truck to Yasur. The one security measure, a sign in the carpark stating “Think Safety”, was not overly reassuring! But we decided to trust our local guide and hope that his understanding of the volcanic activity was as good as he assured us it was.

The extent of our safety briefing

Ok, Thinking Safety! Fingers crossed...

The experience of Yasur was amazing and incredible and terrifying. Standing close to the rim, feeling frequent rumbles which reverberate through your ear drums and chest, followed by an eruption into the sky and a shower of molten volcanic rock falling back down into the crater. Due to the increase in activity, we took heed of the locals’ advice not to venture around the other side of the crater. Some not-so-smart tourists ignored this advice and still did, only to have one particularly large eruption throw volcanic boulders over their heads and land only metres away. This is mother nature at its most primal, and not something to be messing around with! If a rock did happen to take a different course, there would be not much hope for someone standing in its path! There have been a couple of fatalities in recent years, some locals and tourists who got a bit too close.

We watched the sunset from the crater rim, and were captivated by the eruptions against the backdrop of the darkening sky. Finally, when one large eruption sent a boulder the size of a couch landing only 50m from us, we decided we had tempted fate for long enough for one day and retreated to the safety of the truck. The next two nights were spent staying in a bungalow at the base of the volcano, with frequent rumbles and explosions heard throughout the night (some of which shook the walls of the local bungalow we were sleeping in). An experience of a lifetime!

Incredible view (and slightly terrifying)

More and more spectacular as night fell

Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead? But I am sure if another opportunity arises over the next few months I will hard pressed not to jump at the chance to add another volcano to my list.