Yasur Volcano, Tanna Island

Our mission was now to find transport to the volcano, normally wouldn’t be a problem except we were in a rather remote area which was pretty much the furthest away we could possibly be and still be on Tanna. A message was supposed to have been passed on by the guy Anthony had met to a taxi driver but he never showed up. As I was waiting to hear from Anthony another local paddled up in a dugout canoe to say hi and give us some vegetables, a pumpkin and tomatoes. While we were talking he told me he had a truck and could take us to Lenakel to do some shopping, really? I did my best to explain to him that there were eight of us between the two boats and we wanted to go to the volcano, he repeated he could take us to Lenakel. How much to take us to the volcano? He reluctantly agreed he would take us to the volcano for 30,000 Vatu, about $300. This sounds expensive but at the end of the day I think it was extremely good value and an equivalent tour in North America or New Zealand would probably have cost the same for two people not eight. I got Tangaroa on the radio to confirm they were ready to go and OK with the price, they were set, we now just had to wait for our guide to paddle back to his village, pick up his truck, give it a wash and meet us on the beach.

Finally we were off to visit Yasur Volcano, the road from the beach to the main road was barely a path and I was really hoping the main road was going to be more like the ones closer to Lenakel. Thankfully we were on the main road shortly and it was decent but the 4x4 was essential for getting us there for sure. There were lots of things to look at on the drive which was in total was probably about 2-1/2 hours each way. Lush green jungle with awesome trees and vegetation, many villages and many smiling and waving locals treated us. On the way our guide stopped at a village and picked up another local who jumped in the back and spoke much better English and we were able to find out a few more things. Turns out our reluctant guide had never been to the volcano; actually he was scared shitless of it. Seems a family member of his was hit in the leg by a small chunk of magma and he eventually died from infection, now I understood his reluctance.

The road couldn’t have been more perfect as we got nearer the volcano, we had amazing views from up high of the ocean and the volcano from the north then it dropped down and wrapped around the base of the volcano and went through the lava and ash fields. It was absolutely spectacular landscape unlike anything I had seen before. We went back into the jungle for the final stretch to the entrance where we had to stop and pay an entrance fee, the local villages are aware of the attraction and charge a fair price, unfortunately they were still rebuilding after cyclone Pam and the only building in use was where you paid but eventually it looked like there would be local restaurants and maybe some bungalows. The last bit of road was similar to the road from the beach and the 4x4 was again a necessity, at one point our driver had to back down and take another line up a particularly steep section. All this brought us to the car park which only left us with about a 150m hike to the crater.

Nothing I can write or any picture I take can come close to accurately describing what it is like to stand on the edge of an active volcano. I like to think I try and experience as much of nature as I can and have seen some awe inspiring sights, the beauty of pacific islands, the vastness of the ocean, the majesty of an ancient tree, the hugeness of mountain ranges and glaciers, the devastating power of a cyclone, to name some. I am now grateful to have witnessed what I feel is one of the most humbling natural occurrences. The absolute power and energy was incredible, the volcano would rumble and growl followed by a massive ash cloud and sometimes an explosion that would send chunks of magma hurtling into the air hopefully straight up. The magma chunks varying in size from a baseball to bean bag chair would fly hundreds of feet in the air and land with a thud in the ash field where they would glow red hot for the next little while. On some particular violent explosions the odd chunk would fly over our heads and land behind us. We had arrived just before dusk and as it got darker we were treated to a display that got better and better.

The reactions to the volcano varied from person to person, our guide has still not been to the crater, the three girls witnessed one explosion and left to go back down to the truck, only one ventured back up to tell us and their Dad to hurry up. The next day Anthony told me his youngest still seemed affected. Not sure but we may have been there on a particularly active day as some of the other guides took their tours away from the normal viewing area around the other side and up higher where it was perhaps safer. My recommendation, if it appeals to you and you ever get the chance, go well out of your way to visit an active volcano.