I was very excited to visit a country called Vanuatu. which is an island nation in the South Pacific. Shane told me that it used to be called New Hebrides before independence in 1980, and that power for the country before independence was shared by two governments – United Kingdom and France!
We visited Tanna Island, which is a large island to the south of the country. It is famous for having one of the world’s most active volcanoes. As we were heading there, I met many children who were very happy to see me, and we all posed for some photos.
Polly meets the friendly children of Tanna Island
I was joined by my friends, Lenny the Curious Tarsier and Blu’ the Travel Kangaroo. On the way to the volcano crater, we stopped at the Ash Plain, and it was filled with ash that was very deep after thousands of years of eruptions from Mount Yasur. It was very windy and black sand was being blown into my large eyes, so we did not stay here for long.
Polly, Blu' and Lenny on the Ash Plain
We arrived at the car park near the top of Mount Yasur volcano. I could hear the noise of the volcano exploding! There was a large sign telling people to be careful because volcanoes can be very dangerous.
Sign on Mount Yasur
The distance from the car park to the Mount Yasur volcano is very short, it is only 200 metres (650 feet) so it does not take long to hop there, but it was still a steep hop.
The short walk from the car park to the volcano's crater
Shane said that Mount Yasur has five alert levels – Level 0 being the safest and Level 4 being the most dangerous. If the volcano reaches Level 3 they close the crater for visitors. Mount Yasur was now Level 2, the highest level that still allows people and frogs to visit!
When we reached the top we saw ash clouds and lava bombs being shot very high in the air! The ground shook at each explosion and it was very loud! There were two active vents, the left sounded like a jet plane and the right sounded like a train in a tunnel. I could smell the sulphur sometimes, it was not nice and made me cough. My friends and I were very scared; Lenny, Blu’ and I sat close together to comfort each other, and I put my arms around them as we watched the Mount Yasur. Other people visiting were also scared, and some only stayed for a few minutes.
It was scary to be close to a volcano!
Shane wanted to stay for a long time, so we were on the volcano for four hours. At night, the lava looked so beautiful that I forgot how scared I was earlier. It was like watching nature put on a very large fireworks display!
Mount Yasur volcano at night
Shane said that Mount Yasur volcano was one of the 10 best experiences of all his travels, and he wants to return very soon. I was glad to see an active volcano, but it was too scary for me, so I do not think I will be visiting again!
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Tags: Polly 7
October 11th, 2012 at 8:08 am
This is an amazing post and my students were in awe of the fact that you and Polly could get so close to an active volcano.
October 11th, 2012 at 8:20 pm
Thank you Rayann! We were only 150 metres (500 feet) from the vents, so it was very close. People we met who had visited volcanoes in other countries said that they could get much closer to Mount Yasur than other volcanoes. Shane said that the wind’s direction was the most important factor in staying safe; because the wind was coming from behind us, it blew the lava bombs further away. If the wind was blowing towards us, it may have been too dangerous to visit.
Shane placed his videos and other photos here: http://www.travelblog.org/Ocea.....45185.html
October 11th, 2012 at 8:48 pm
I never realized how close you could get to an active volcano. Quite a lot of interesting information, and very clever pictures. I’ve seen some of your other posts, and I’m always amazed at the places you visit, and the things that you do on your trips. Keep up the good work!
December 1st, 2012 at 12:31 pm
I’ve never seen a pretty picture! How far was you from the volcano? How many places have you been before there?