Travel Pacific
Vanuatu's Tanna Awaits the Adventurous
Up Close at a Volcano That Vents Its Anger on a Regular Basis.
Most tourists who actually find their way to Vanuatu tend to stick to the safety of package tours and luxury resorts for a few days and stay primarily in and around Port Vila, the country's capital on the main island of Efate. But for the more adventurous, there are plenty of islands to explore for weeks on end.
There's the famous land-diving/bunjy jumping ceremony of Pentecost; swimming with dugongs at Epi; ancient Kauri trees of Erromango; and the volcanoes of Ambae and Ambryn. One of the more popular islands to visit after Efate, and perhaps the easiest to get to, is the southern island of Tanna. With flights twice a day and only 45 minutes south of the capital with Vanair, the country's domestic airline, Tanna has one of the most accessible active volcanoes in the world. Not surprising considering Vanuatu lies squarely on top of the infamous Ring of Fire, the volcanic region at the edge of the tectonic plates under the Pacific Ocean.
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Tanna's Mt. Yasur is a mere 360 meters above sea level. But what it lacks in height it certainly makes up in activity. This is not one of those volcanoes that catches ancient Roman villages sleeping off-guard by erupting once a century to prove that Mother Nature is alive and well. This is a volcano that vents its anger on a regular basis, spewing bits and pieces of molten rock and ash hundreds of meters into the air. It's like being on top of Mt. Olympus with Zeus Almighty as he hurls thunderbolts at his cast of insubordinate gods and goddesses for interfering in the lives of us mortals. Even more impressive, or terrifying as the case may be, is viewing the crater at night when the volcano entertains all with an awe-inspiring fireworks display of red hot lava rock against a blackened sky.
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The French research organization ORSTROM has devised an early warning system based on a scale of 0-4; with 0 being relatively calm and 4 being high activity — in other words, make a run for it! The island has never had to be evacuated, although three people in 1995 — one Japanese tourist and two local guides in separate incidents — have lost their lives after being hit with falling debris near the crater's rim.
Despite the volatility and terror that the volcano can exude, hiking up and around the outer rim can be rewarding, as long as you stay on the path and keep a sharp eye out for flying lava rock. Guides can be hired from the surrounding villages and unmarked trails can be followed to the great ashen plain surrounding the volcano. From this point it's another few kilometers by foot to the top. Proceed at your own risk. For the non-hiker, getting to Mt. Yasur is no easy task considering the only paved road on the entire island is the airport's runway. But with a rugged 4x4 on an organized tour, travelers can drive within 150 meters of the actual crater rim. By foot or by car, it will prove to be a most memorable experience.
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Visitors to Tanna can stay in island bungalows at Port Resolution, as well as at a number of limited accommodations throughout the island such as the White Grass Bungalows near the airport, the Tanna Beach Resort, and the Friendly Bungalows, a Robinson Crusoe style getaway not too far from the volcano. Like most isolated islands, prices for accommodation and traveling around Vanuatu are not cheap. But how often does one get to see an active volcano up close?
Photo: Mark Schulman
