Crossed the other side of the world & visited the Tanna Volcano

Rhumbrunner
Sun 3 Jul 2016 05:14
A few days ago in the middle of the night, I watched the GPS as the numbers went from 179 W to 179E. This was a big milestone for me as it meant we are directly opposite Grenwich in London. The other side of the world. It feels like every mile we go now is towards the UK. It's not really as we will have to head south to Africa & then out into the Atlantic way past the Greenwich meridian, but still a highlight to be remembered.
Another highlight that I had been looking forward to was the Volcano on Tanna. Yesterday we arrived at first light, cleared in customs & arranged to get a 4 wheel drive truck to the famous Volcano. The drive was a highlight in itself. About a year ago I did a Range Rover experience day where we tested the off road ability. These guys do the equivalent driving on their main road! It was amazing!
Any, back to the Volcano. After an introduction dance by the locals and then a safety brief we were taken up the volcano by truck (more fun) to just below the rim. From there we walk up while the volcano made noises that made you think you would be showered with molten rock at any point. >From the various points on the rim where we walked with had a spectacular view of the power of the hot (5,000'C) lava exploding up into the crater of the volcano. Luckily it did not reach up to the rim, although I did think it was almost as high as us. Amazing!!!
For the next few days we'll island hop across Vanuatu before heading off to Australia.
Current Position 2/7/16 21.30GMT 19:31.5S 169:29.8W

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