This morning was a chance to sleep in a little for some, with a late breakfast, and leisurely morning. But not for the birders or those interested in seeing what lives upon and in the tropical seas of Vanuatu. From early morning there were steady streams of wedge-tailed shearwaters, sometimes in dribs and drabs, but at one stage mid-morning there were hundreds of them feeding, obviously concentrated around fish or plankton being driven to the surface by unseen underwater predators.
Moderately strong trade-winds blew from the east, with lots of white-caps, and a gentle rocking swell. Every now and then another species of seabird would whip across the sea, giving brief views to those looking, and species seen included Providence, Kermadec and Tahiti petrels, the smaller collared petrel, and tropical shearwaters with sooty terns and several common noddies. There were also things visible beneath the sea, with two large cow-nosed rays being seen, their browny-green shapes clearly visible below the surface, looking to be about 6 feet across. Views were fleeting, but interesting none the less.
Mid-morning David gave us an introduction to volcanoes, their classification, and historical events both nearby and elsewhere. We left feeling great excitement being so close to experiencing this up close at Mount Yasur!
As we drew close to Tanna, the steep sides clothed in green tropical vegetation and coconut palms loomed, and Mount Yasur was there in front of us. Every now and then a puff of dark sooty smoke rose from the top of the mountain, increasing our excitement. All of a sudden there was a puff of water vapour from the sea not far off the ship, and a sperm whale was sighted. It looked like a calf, and as it was left in the wake another joined it, possibly its mother. We could just make out the calf tail slapping, but conditions were not ideal to turn the ship, and besides, we had a deadline to meet.
The ship anchored not far off our landing beach as we had lunch and then, with quite large swells running we embarked the Zodiacs to head ashore. This took a little time, with conditions not easy at the side-gate, but the crew and drivers helped us safely into the Zodiacs and ashore. On the landing beach we were welcomed by locals singing and dancing, and as we all gathered we had a special performance to greet us to this island. Of course for many the focus were all the very cute, smiling, friendly children, but the dances were excellent, and we had plenty of opportunities for photography.
After the performances, we were able to take more photographs, and then loaded up the 4WD vehicles and headed up the mountain, finding seats inside the vehicles and on the back of them. The rough track up the side of the mountain to the top of Yasur took about 40 minutes, but was well worth it, with stunning views and then a short walk to the top of the trail to overlook the crater. And boy was it spectacular, every now and then a huge booming sound with massive glowing bombs being ejected hundreds of feet into the air. The constant gurgling sound, like a hungry stomach, interspersed by huge booms was just awesome, and the steam and sulfur cloud that surrounded us just added to the atmosphere. As the sky gradually darkened as the sun got lower, the glowing crater became more menacing, and the massive glowing lumps of lava being ejected into the air really came to life. Wow, what a place!
Some of us chose to stay on the top of the mountain until after dark, reveling in the experience, and gradually we headed back to the ship. Back on the landing beach it was dark as we headed back to the ship, with lively conditions at the side-gate making things interesting. Again we were ably assisted by the seamen and drivers to make it back onboard for another outstanding dinner, recounting stories of the day.
