It was a leisurely 0845 pickup for my Twilight Daytrip to Mt Yasur volcano on the island of Tanna. But the transport by Unity Airlines turned up at 0830. We had another pickup before going to the airport by way of the backroad to join a family of six (who must be quite well-off).
Check-in consisted of weighing ourselves with hand luggage. With no boarding pass, we were given a card for the departure tax payment of VUV200.
We took off in a twin-engined Cessna Chieftain with nine passengers and young Captain Chris around 1000 for the flight to Tanna’s Whitegrass airport. Part of the airport roof had been taken off by the cyclone. We left in two pickup trucks for Tanna Evergreen Resort which had been badly impacted by Cyclone Pam. The resort served as our rest stop for lunch.
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- Our aircraft to Tanna and back.
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- Our aircraft to Tanna and back.
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- Leaving Port Vila.
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- Tanna’s airport missing part of its roof from Cyclone Pam.
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- Part of our party ride on the back of the pickup.
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- Our lunch stop at Tanna Evergreen.
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- Our lunch stop shows evidence of destruction by Cyclone Pam.
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- First glimpse of Mount Yasur, smoking slightly.
Around 1230, we set off in two pickups again for Mt Yasur volcano. The journey on the main road took us past the islands main town which consisted of a few shops. We saw many huge trees with no branches but new growth close to its trunk. They looked strange and were the regrowth after having be de-branched and de-leafed by Cyclone Pam. The road disappeared into tracks which led to a huge plain of black volcanic ash at the base of Mt Yasur.
Crossing the plain to the other side, we ascended a steep volcanic ash track which was lined with very lush growth. Obviously the ash was from a long time ago whereas the un-vegetated ash on the other side was newer. Even in the most remote-looking places, we saw occasionally saw some barefooted locals sometimes with the most healthy-looking cows.
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- View of Tanna coastline.
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- The later part of the road to Mt Yasur is just volcanic ash.
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- Big plain of volcanic ash.
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- Big plain of volcanic ash.
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- Big plain of volcanic ash.
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- The later part of the road to Mt Yasur is just volcanic ash.
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- There were limited paved sections in the later part of the drive where it was steep.
After a total of over 1h30 in the pickup, we hopped out for a short walk to the crater rim. I was disappointed that a shoulder/shelf in the crater meant that we couldn’t see the lava lake. All we could see was a hole with some smoke coming out. Apart from the size of the hole, this doesn’t really beat my experience on Mt Bromo.
As we stood on the crater rim, the ground rumbled beneath our feet. We heard what sounded like a clap of thunder and streams of orange lava shoot out over the shelf. It was pretty cool and I was happy that it was definitely a step beyond my Bromo experience. We hung around for a total of perhaps 40 minutes and managed to see a few more such displays. Photography was difficult because of the short and unannounced nature of these spurts.
On the return journey to the airport, I sat on the deck of the pickup on normal car seats which had been somehow mounted on there. It did jiggle a bit but it was a nice experience. It served as a reminder that Vanuatu in winter isn’t exactly tropical and I was more than ready for a wee when I got to the airport.
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- The pickup parked and we climbed to the crater rim.
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- Mt Yasur crater rim.
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- Mt Yasur crater rim.
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- Mt Yasur crater; I was disappointed that the shoulder on the inside of the crater obscured the lava lake.
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- Mt Yasur crater; I was disappointed that the shoulder on the inside of the crater obscured the lava lake.
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- Mt Yasur crater; I was disappointed that the shoulder on the inside of the crater obscured the lava lake.
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- Mt Yasur crater; I was disappointed that the shoulder on the inside of the crater obscured the lava lake.
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- My turn to ride on the back of the pickup truck.
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- Scene on the way back, on the deck of the pickup.
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- Scene on the way back, on the deck of the pickup.
After paying for the departure tax, we walked through to the airside (not that there was any security, just like in Vila). We waited briefly so that we could take off just before sunset. It was a nine minute journey to the volcano.
Chris flew us on above the crater rim to give us a good view into the crater’s lava lake. We could see three glowing orange spots where the molten lava was spurting through the crust of the lava lake. With a little imagination, one could say it was like looking into the gate of hell. We made a total of three passes on my side and four on the other side before flying back to Port Vila in the glow of the sunset. As it became darker, we could see the glow of the engine exhaust through the vent of the engine cowling. Everyone was quiet after such an awesome experience.
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- Flight along the crater rim looking into the crater lake. How awesome is that?! Photo courtesy of Archie Tait.
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- Flight along the crater rim looking into the crater lake. How awesome is that?! Photo courtesy of Archie Tait.
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- Flight along the crater rim looking into the crater lake. How awesome is that?! Photo courtesy of Archie Tait.
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- Flying back to Port Vila in the glow of the sunset.
We landed and I was shuttled back by Ishreen who had picked me up this morning. As it turned out at the end of the day, she’s also Malaysian from Negeri Sembilan. I grabbed dinner at the Chinese restaurant opposite the prison near my hotel. It was excellent value compared to anything and everything else around, which is quite usual for Chinese food. You can always count on Chinese to deliver value.