We went to an active volcano and this happened…

We went to an active volcano and this happened…

Flipping heck. This was undoubtedly the craziest adventure yet. 
A trip that pushed us into a wave of emotions in both fear and excitement. We came to Tanna Island 
for one reason. A dream that we have carried for years. To stand on the edge of an active 
volcano and see molten lava with a naked eye. After two failed attempts in other parts of the 
world, this was the trip where it felt possible. What we found on that volcano was nothing like 
we imagined and it pushed us far beyond our comfort zone. We begin our trip in the capital 
city of Vanuatu, ready to begin the adventure. We’re at Port Vila domestic airport. It is 
honestly one of the smallest I have ever seen. And if you watched our last video, you know we had 
a few problems with Air Vanuatu. One of the unique things about the flight we’re about to take is 
that there’s only 16 passengers on board and it’s a very small propeller plane. Because it’s such a 
small aircraft, when we checked in, they actually weighed us. So, not just our baggage. We had to 
go on the scales. 3C and 3B. Thank you. Here we go. Oh, we’re about to board the plane. Oh, wow. 
Look at the plane. At least it’s bigger than the other one. That one’s tiny, but this is our one. 
Air Vanuatu. Little bit gray in the background, but hopefully we’ll be all right. No 
delays today. This is great, isn’t it? Oh, you’re not allowed around those, are you? Oh, 
don’t know. You’re not allowed under the wing, even though it’s a small aircraft. No one’s here 
to instruct me. You go first. Whoa, it’s tiny. You got a duck. Flipping it. It’s so thin. I think this is us. Three seats 
wide, but each seat is like half of my forearm. Hello to the captain. Good morning. Morning. 
Here we go to Tana. Hopefully this plane’s reliable. Finally, we could see some lava. It’s 
so crazy. You can just look into the pilots. As our plane took off, the reality of where 
we were heading sunk in. We were potentially about to live out one of our wildest dreams 
in one of the remotest corners of the planet. Oh, here we are. It’s so windy. It’s windy. 
Welcome to Tana. There’s our bag. Oh, yeah. Not long for check luggage. 
That was a great flight, though, wasn’t it? It was. I was a little bit nervous 
at first because it’s such a small plane, but it’s actually pretty smooth. Got our 
baggage and now we’re going to go meet Mike, who is an owner of the place. We are staying 
very close to the volcano for the next two nights. It was Mike, right? Mike, nice 
to meet you. Okay, thank you. Thanks. We just stopped off in Lenekal, the main town, to 
try and get some supplies. We’re going to get some water and some cookies or something because we are 
going into the middle of the jungle. What have you found? Cappuccino cookies. Cappuccino cookies. 
Well, I don’t think we’ll have a cappuccino in the jungle, so they’ll do. And some vanatu 
water. Snacks acquired. Yeah, got my snacks. Thank you. Thank you. Our guide Mike seems 
to also be getting some snacks and food to take back to the jungle because where we 
are staying tonight is quite off-grid. Will it be possible to go up to the volcano 
or is the weather too bad tomorrow morning? Tomorrow morning I think it’s possible because 
here that it’s going to be clear. After leaving the town of Lenl, it became clear that the 
weather had been pretty bad on this island and had apparently destroyed many of the 
roads, meaning access to the volcano was currently limited. Our journey took an hour and 
a half, passing black sand beaches and rural life along the way. As we got closer, we came across a 
potent smell. Strong. Yeah, it’s like, you know, fire and also poison. Oh, the sulfur. Sulfur. 
Quite strong, isn’t it? That sulfur smell. It’s smelly. W It’s so misty. So misty. There’s 
someone. So it’s, you know, the smell comes from the midst of the fire, you know. Yeah. 
Ah, you were right. The road is very muddy. We’re driving through the river. Whoa. This one is a little bit more dodgy, 
I think. I’m glad I’m not driving. You haven’t even got your license, 
Cheeky. Well, I’m glad I’m not driving. We can’t drive up the last bit because of all 
the rain recently. So, we are just hiking up to where we are staying tonight. How you 
doing, Emilia? Good. Adventure girl. I think I breathe in the sofa. Yep. You’ll be 
doing that for the next couple of nights. Welcome guys to the middle of the jungle here 
on Tana Island. Now, right in front of us is the volcano. But the unfortunate thing is it’s very 
stormy at the moment. There’s a lot of cloud, isn’t there? It was torrential raining a minute 
ago and we literally just like couldn’t leave the room. It was just pouring. But check out 
what we can see of the volcano right now. So what you can see is the very outer side of the 
crater and then the other side of the crater is over here. And in the middle there is actually 
smoke or sulfur coming out the top. Just heard an eruption. Sounded like a thunder but like 
really deep thunder. Like a deep have to try and get that on camera. So, one of the incredible 
things about Mount Yosur, this volcano, is that it erupts roughly every 5 to 15 minutes. We’re going 
to be hopeful the rain clears tomorrow and we’ll be able to see that eruption. As you can probably 
hear, the rain is pretty heavy right now. So, unfortunately, we’re going to have a very, very, 
very early night cuz it is only half 7. And we’re just going to have to go to sleep. There’s 
nothing really else to do here in the jungle. We arrived here maybe half 1 and it has just 
rained all afternoon and there is nothing to do here in the rain. So we are praying for some 
non rain, even clouds, just anything tomorrow morning so that we can go and see the volcano. 
Wish us luck. Hopefully this roof is strong. Good morning guys from the treehouse. We have 
some slightly good news. It’s not raining. The only problem is the volcano is still covered 
either by volcanic smoke or clouds. But it’s it’s definitely clearing up. Fingers crossed this 
sun which is potentially coming through is going to lift it. Good morning. I’m going to go find 
Joel now. He’s already gone down right now. We are just so happy that it’s not raining because 
yesterday was a little bit miserable to be honest. Good morning. I’m just flying the drone but 
a minute ago I thought it was raining. It’s raining ash. Look at my skin. Are you serious? 
Yeah. Wa. Look at the Look at the controller. So that’s why I’m standing under this tree. It’s 
not shelter from the rain, but the ash. Oh my god. But it’s on me as well. Yeah, it comes down 
really fast. Trying to get the ash out my hair cuz there’s so much falling out the sky. Well, we’re 
not far from the volcano and it’s coming straight over us as well. Behind me here might look like 
an ordinary tree, but this is actually our room way up there. It doesn’t look like It just looks 
like a tree from here, I’ll be honest. Okay. Well, it’s not just a tree. And I hope it’s strong 
because it has to carry our weight. But Mike actually built this himself. And you have to 
remember how remote we are. They have to bring all the building supplies here, which is just crazy 
if you think about the route we took yesterday through all those rivers. And yeah, we have a 
staircase that is a bit of a climb. And it’s actually so high. Look, you can start to see the 
treehouse now. It is so high up. It’s probably one of the tallest tree houses I’ve seen. Welcome to 
our treehouse. And if you are scared of heights, maybe don’t stay here. So, as you can see, it 
is literally just built out of wood. Let me take my shoes off cuz I don’t want to get any sand 
everywhere. Volcanic ash. Welcome to our room. So, we have a big double bed. And surprisingly, it’s 
actually a really comfortable mattress. We both sled. The bits of sleep we did get between the 
rain were very good. We have a blanket and stuff cuz it did actually get a bit chilly. We have 
another bed which is kind of just for our stuff. And that’s about it. It is pretty open at the 
sides, but the roof is strong. We didn’t get any rain coming in. And then through here, we actually 
have a view of the volcano. And there is a toilet, but we’re not allowed to use this one. We actually 
have to use one downstairs, which we’ll show you in a bit. See that there’s actually gaps between 
all the floorboards. And then they have these mats over the top. Obviously, there is no power up 
here. Luckily, we were prepared and we do have like a head torch and our power bank so we can 
charge a little bit of stuff, but we do have a little solar panled light with a control. Um, 
but last night because there was barely any sun yesterday, it actually didn’t last for very 
long. So, yeah, but it’s pretty cool experience. The reason we’re staying out here in the jungle 
is because you can actually see the lava glow at night. Obviously, it rained last night, but 
hopefully tonight if it’s clear, we’ll be able to see that glow. And if you stay where all the 
nicer resorts are on the other side of the island, you just can’t even see the volcano. So, that’s 
why we’re here in the jungle. But also, this place is pretty pretty cool. Back to basics for two 
nights. This is our bathroom area. So, in here we have a little shower. We haven’t actually used it 
yet because they said water here is limited. So, we didn’t have a shower yesterday. And in here 
is a toilet. We do actually have a proper toilet, which is kind of crazy considering how remote 
we are. And we have a little tap and we can use the water just here to brush our teeth and 
wash our face. This morning we are going on a track. So right now it is good weather. Well, as 
good as weather as we’re probably going to get. So we’re heading to the crater of the volcano. 
Hopefully we’re going to see some kind of red glow or something. Obviously, it’s much harder in 
the daylight to see it, but like at the moment, this seems like our only option because 
later, apparently, it’s going to rain again, so we have to do it. Usually, you can take a 
four-wheel drive basically almost all the way up the volcano. Because it’s so rainy, the roads 
are really bad, and we have to hike. Unlucky for us. But lucky for you guys, you just get to sit 
on the sofa and relax whilst we trek to an active volcano. Maybe subscribe while you’re set there. 
The guide hasn’t turned up. So, Mike has told us he’s going to show us a little bit of the way and 
then we’re just going to walk up it by ourselves. I think we have to cross a river. So, I’ve taken 
off my cut offs on my trousers and taken off my shoes. And we got to cross this river here. This 
doesn’t look too deep. So, we should be all right. I’m going to fall over. It’s quite cold, isn’t 
it? Surprisingly, it is cold. Mountain water. You did it. Yeah. It’s a strong drag in 
the middle there. Yeah. Did well though. We have arrived at the volcano entrance. This 
looks like the most official thing I’ve seen on Tanner Island so far. That volcano rumble 
was so loud. It goes off every 5 minutes, isn’t it? Yeah. I think it’s going to 
get louder as we get closer shortly. We just paid 9750 V2 each to get into this 
volcanic area. And we’re heading up the volcano right now. We could be seeing lava very shortly. 
Uh because of the weather, we’re just going now cuz we want to take every opportunity we can. We 
just keep laughing to ourselves because this is supposed to be the world’s most accessible volcano 
because you can just drive to it. Of course, the day we’re here, it’s like a mammoth hike and we’re 
dripping in sweat. Like, we have to cross a river. Are we just like really unlucky? Because if you 
watched a few videos ago, you would have seen when we went to Stromboli in Italy and we didn’t see 
the lava there cuz of cloud. Like, please, I just want to see some lava. Someone out there doesn’t 
want us to see it. So, here you can see like the road because of all the rain. It’s basically made 
like its own little waterfall. So, this is why we can’t drive up right now. Kind of makes sense 
when you see it, but I would be glad for 4×4 right now. So, you can see here, I think that’s some of 
the sulfur coming out of the volcano. It doesn’t actually smell too bad right now. Maybe the wind’s 
going the other way. Only a slight rotten egg kind of sulfur smell. The most thing I’m worried 
about is how much I’m sweating. Yeah, it’s hot. That’s starting to look cool. Whoa. Crazy. It is crazy, isn’t it? Sweaty. You’re sweaty. I’ve got a bag. I 
carry a bag. Feels good. Oh, there’s a car. We just passed a 4×4 which somehow must 
have made it up here. Um, but the guy on it, he was like telling us to be very careful. Um, 
he did freak me out a bit. He said, you know, sometimes the lava nans near you or like saying 
things like that. And I’m feeling quite scared and kind of wondering why they haven’t sent anyone 
up here with us. The fact that we’re alone is freaking me out. Especially with Joel, who’s a 
bit more of a daredevil. I don’t like how close he stands to things. This was honestly not what I was 
picturing. Sound is a bit scary. That was a nice quiet one. When it really when it goes for it, it 
goes. Every now and again there’s a really loud. We can’t see it yet, but I assume 
there’s rocks squirting out the ground. This is the natural world. It’s kind 
of intimidating. Do you see that rock? That was a huge rock. Just flew out of 
it. Like this big. That’s crazy. That’s near like where you’re supposed to stand. 
What the heck? What is going on right now? Flipping heck. Are you okay? We’re not close. Okay, maybe we have to try this another time 
with a guide. I don’t know. You’re so ashy. Am I? So, obviously, we paid the entrance and now 
a guide with another Australian woman has actually come up. So, I’m still very nervous 
cuz that was a massive boulder which came up, but we’re just going to follow behind them. 
Amelia’s a bit worried, so she’s staying at the bottom. I’m just going to go up and see if we 
can see much. It does look like it’s too smoky, cloudy. I don’t think we’ll see anything. And I’m 
in two minds of whether it’s actually safe. Like, this is ridiculous. It seems more 
active maybe than usual right now. That was so loud. Oh wow. Yeah. Rocks in the air again. I can see a rock. What is 
this? Just water from rain. Whoa. Wow. There’s two crater. One on that side 
and the other one on So that was like Oh, so it wasn’t an echo. It was two craters. Uh yes, it’s not the echo. Two craters. Wow. It’s kind of 
flipping scary. Just hearing that thunder away. Yeah, look, there’s rocks in the air again. Wow. 
After seeing more rocks, I’m just getting out of here. I’m going back to see Amelia cuz this 
is just crazy. Like, this is just ridiculous. You can’t go to the point to see the lava because 
it’s closed because it is so active right now. So, we’re just going to go down and leave it. I 
mean, we could probably come back for sunrise or something when you can actually see more lava 
coming up. How are you doing? Are you all right? Yeah. Bit scary, right? Very scary. Not going to 
lie. I was feeling pretty mad at myself for not being brave. Oh, don’t worry, Amelia. This is 
You can’t blame yourself. Look where you are. This is an active volcano with not many safety 
precautions. It’s okay. Let’s just walk. Let’s walk a little bit further away. All right. You 
don’t need to be mad at yourself. I really didn’t see much. I just saw Yeah. I basically just 
saw some more rocks flying out of the air, but they were serious. Yeah. But they were far 
away and they’re at 6. So 6 is not open right now cuz it’s too dangerous. Okay. And that’s where you 
can see the lava. Oh, but we can’t even go there right now. You can’t even go there right now. So, 
I saw You can’t even see down to the magnet. So, you didn’t miss much. All right, we are on 
our way back down. Definitely safe now. Um, but we’re going to try again. We’re definitely 
going to try again if we can if the weather still stays good. Um, and hopefully at night 
so we can actually see some some magma coming out the ground cuz that’s that is the 
dream, isn’t it? That’s what we came to see. We are slowly making our way back to our 
treehouse and we’ve come across this like open plains bit and we just ended up sitting 
down cuz our legs are pretty tired. We haven’t done that much walking recently. Can’t believe 
what we’re just like sitting on front of and the fact that I’m just sitting on volcanic sand and 
that we’re alone. I didn’t I thought you’d have to go on proper tours, but here we are. I think 
you are meant to, but for some reason, we’re not. We’re just going to be spending the afternoon 
sitting here watching the volcano in the bungalow where someone else was staying last night, 
but they’ve checked out. It’s our view now. We’ve cleaned out a packet of Oreos and we’re just 
putting our feet up. It’s lovely. Not a bad view. The weather looks like it’s improving. So, 
I think we’re going to try and head to the volcano tonight to be able to see the magma, 
the lava coming out. I think we’re going to have to leave in literally like 10 minutes to be 
able to get there because obviously it’s quite a process crossing rivers and stuff to get to the 
volcano. So, let’s hope the weather stays good. And luckily for us, Mike had managed to 
arrange a car to take us up to the volcano as the road had been fixed. Hello. You take 
us. Yes. Oh, okay. We’ll get in. Thank you. Bumpy road. Very bumpy. Looking at the horse. 
Yeah. You’re doing well. Does it get bad from the rain? Oh, yes. When heavy rain, it’s really bad. 
Yeah. Like last night it was heavy, right? Oh, yes. And that’s why they were fixing the road. I 
think we’re nearly at the top. Nearly at the top. Yeah. At the top. Wow. Oh, there’s some other 
cars here as well. I didn’t think we’d be back here quite as quickly, but here we are. Few hours 
later. This is exciting. I’m nervous though. Got to do it. It’s only once in a lifetime. Here 
we are then a few hours later and this time Amelia’s Amelia’s coming up. Just a little bit 
of good old thunder or volcanic thunder. You’ve got this. Oh my god. There’s other people up 
there so I feel a bit more confident. What am I doing? This could be the magical moment. This 
could be the moment we’ve been waiting for. It is a crazy view behind you right now. I’m on 
top of the wall. You’re on top of a volcano. Where are the other people? I need more people 
around me. I think they’re up on the right. Is that where you went earlier? Over here earlier. 
Yeah. How you feeling right now? I’m nervous, but I’m trying to kind of face my fears. 
I don’t know what’s going to happen. Just let me know if a lava boulder comes out 
behind me. All right, I’ll let you know. I don’t like that. Okay, this is mental. Did you see that lava? Yeah, I did. That was mental. I just 
don’t like doing it alone. No, I don’t know why there’s not a guy with us. Like, 
this is weird. How are we just allowed up here? That was just down there. Just down there. 
Oh, what? That’s crazy. It’s crazy. There’s no helmets or like anything like it’s just 
not. Did you just You’re like, “Don’t run. I’m flipping out. I’m running.” I’m not sure if 
it’s coming at me. I’m I’m off. See you later. And the clouds are being produced by 
the rain or just by the explosions of by friend sometimes from 
the Mac I mean like volcano a little bit red. Yeah, it’s glowing 
red a bit. It is glowing. Wow. Stop. Stop. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. That’s crazy. 
That’s falling from the sky. What? What? Wa. Whoa. That’s crazy. There’s 
still some burning down there. That’s the craziest thing. Oh my 
god. We saw the lava. We’ve seen it. It was crazy. You almost see 
like the magma pool kind of thing. Wa. It might explode anytime. Wow. Okay. Time to go. Hey, there’s this room behind 
life. Don’t know if that’s good or bad, but that was a scary moment. How was the We saw 
the lava. Saw the lava. Yeah. Not super clear, but we saw some. Is this the 
craziest thing I’ve ever seen? Last night. It’s not really how I 
expected it to be if I’m honest. No, it is. We have dreamt of that moment for quite a 
while now. Obviously, we tried in Strong Bali in Italy to see lava and it didn’t work out. 
And then seeing it here was just like not what it just wasn’t what I was expecting to 
see. Lava was such an incredible like thing, but it was actually so scary. And the safety is 
just there was no safety. There was no safety. Like even the when we met those guides, they 
were just on their phones. They weren’t really watching. And yeah, I’m glad we finally got 
here and we’ve seen the lava. We’ve done it. It’s hard to put into words what this 
experience meant for us. Standing completely exposed to the raw power of 
nature, we felt powerless and fragile, but also more alive than ever. In that moment, 
we realized how little control we truly have. After taking time to process everything, we 
both agreed that this was truly unforgettable. One of those rare moments in life that makes 
you say, “I can’t believe I actually did that.” From living off-rid in a handmade treehouse to 
battling disastrous roads that eventually led us to a volcano filled with molten lava, our time 
on Tana Island completely blew us away. Its wild, untamed nature is something we will 
carry with us for a very long time.

Our journey to the remote island of Tanna in Vanuatu turned into one of the scariest and most unforgettable adventures of our lives. After spending nearly three weeks travelling across the South Pacific, we came here for one reason. To visit Mount Yasur. Known as one of the most accessible active volcanoes in the world. This is the story of our trip to Mount Yasur Volcano, a place unlike anywhere we have ever been. The raw power of nature here is something you can feel in your chest. What unfolded on this mountain is something we will never forget.

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