The rumble of thunder is now receding as a grey wet dawn finally arrives. A blue flash and frightening crack of lightning close to the boat in the night had us scurrying to put computers and sat phone in the oven to protect them from a strike. Beside us Anak Krakatau smokes and steams eerily. Primeval forces of nature are on display here in no short measure. To cap it all I have just finished reading ‘The Road’, a vision of a post- apocalyptic future by Cormac McCarthy. This really feels how the earth began and possibly ends.

We arrived here yesterday afternoon not sure if we would be able to stay. There are 3 possible anchorage sites but none of them perfect. The other 2 were rolly so we chose this one within 50 metres of the shore under the small but impressive Anak Krakatau. The problem here is that the water is very deep right until worryingly close to the black sand beach. However we found a spot in 20 metres and the anchor took straight away.

This volcano was only formed in 1927 when it emerged from the sea at the site where in 1883 Krakatau disappeared from the face of the planet and ejected 20 cu kilometres of ash into the atmosphere. In Rodriguez 5000 km away (where we hope to be in a couple of months) the police chief reported “heavy gunfire from the east”. The explosion caused a tsunami 40 metres high that killed 36,000 people and reached the Saudi Arabian peninsula only 12 hours after the eruption. Sunsets as far as the UK were affected for nearly 3 years afterwards as the dust was spread around the world in the atmosphere.

Anak Krakatau is pouring out smoke as I write. Fortunately the gentle westerly wind is sending the sulphurous gas away from us.

It is possible to climb to the top of the volcano and look at the fumaroles and the small caldera close up. It only takes about an hour to get up but we are nervous about doing so as it is important to get advice from the wardens before the climb because tourists have been killed in the past, presumably by being overcome by the gas rather than an eruption. However, there are no wardens here and so far we have had the island to ourselves except for a couple of passing fisherman in their outrigger canoes.

The island is largely devoid of vegetation with the tracks of obvious solidified lava flows falling steeply to the sea. However the eastern end is covered by a small but dense forest already alive with birds and also host to a few land animals including monitor lizards and the inevitable rats. Succession is rapid in this climate. We’ve had a few rainy spells but they just add to the atmosphere sometimes.

The 3 other nearby islands, which are all that are left of the original Krakatau, are all clothed in thick jungle. This must be the most atmospheric anchorage we have ever experienced. We shall stay here for at least one more day both to continue to soak up the atmosphere of this extraordinary place but also in the hope that the Trade winds which we need to take us to Cocos Keeling begin soon. At the moment there is a lack of any wind on the passage there and we have too little fuel to motor all the way.