Vanuatu: Rain & Fire

We timed our run in to Port Resolution on the island of Tanna to arrive at first light, unfortunately it had rained the whole time from Fiji and young Josh had suffered quite a bit from the heavy weather. We only spent a few days here as a pit stop on the way to New Caledonia, the main reasoning for the stop was to visit the volcano, a short drive from where we were anchored.

Another passage and another Mahi, this one was a particularly bloody affair. Caught exactly halfway between Fiji and Vanuatu.

Port Resolution Yacht Club

The road from the Yachty to Town

Josh looking over Port Resolution, whilst Cowabunga waits patiently for us in the distance.

This guy and his son would always come by on their daily paddle around the bay.

The village was one of the most basic, or stereotypical, island villages we had been to, however they were all welcoming and extremely nice to us. After getting a lift up the volcano with Werry and Stanley, the locals who run the Port Resolution Yacht Club, we were greeted with nothing more than cloud, mist and the almost overpowering smell of sulphur billowing out from the bowels of the earth.

The Yacht Clubs "dinghy dock"

Yacht Club Guard Dog

Yacht Club Commodore - for some reason he would come up to us for a scratch, then as a thank you, would scratch some skin off our legs - that reason I believe is because he was born a cat.

Pretty disenchanted with the view and situation at hand , we climbed to the top of the volcano and stepped on the edge of its rim to look down and see the faintest tinge of red from the lava pot below. Still disenchanted but hopeful the weather would clear to improve our experience, we waited around as dusk was getting closer. As the light was fading the glow soon became richer and the sulphur clouds and mist began to clear as the volcano sprung to life with some deep rumbles and explosions that had some of us on the mountain running for cover. The explosions kept coming, each one seeming to eclipse the one previous, lava rocks were landing closer to us, some of these weighing up to 3 tonnes and getting flung over 200 metres in to the air.

Our walk up through the Sulphur to the top of the volcano; as you can see it was perfect weather for it.

Our first view of the scene, we all thought the situation was shit, but no one was brave enough to say it.

Josh, Me, Caitlin and Andy

Each explosion would start as a tremor beneath the feet, then the rumble and explosion with the customary burst of heat as the glowing red rocks would land all over the outer rim of the volcano. It was definitely a powerful thing to witness and one that made all of us remember just how insignificant humans are.

A few of these movements, made us start to run when we first saw it.

As night fell, it started to get more spectacular.

On the way down the volcano and back to the boat.

My solution for not having a remote flash? Just set up a long exposure and then take a flash photo with another camera

The next day we spent relaxing on the boat due to the rain, we did manage a quick surf and kayak around before spending our final night there eating the local dinner cooked by the ladies of the village at the yacht club.

Dinner night at the Yacht Club

The next stop on the journey is New Caledonia, 230nm away, one we are all looking forward to, in the hope of seeing the sun for the first time in 12 days. 

Leaving Port Resolution - Next stop, New Caledonia

Waking up on day 2, with 50nm to go to New Caledonia