Taking Google to capture the center of our fiery world in stunning 360 degree imagery. Come along on the adventure with us from your living room.
Standing on the crater floor of Benbow Volcano watching lava surge sky-high had surpassed everything. It was the best show on earth. It was also perhaps the most extreme location on earth and inaccessible to most.
I wanted to share my experience with the world. The photos weren’t capturing the unbelievable scale of the crater and lava lake. And then an idea came. Could I utilize the technology of the Google Trekker to capture the entire descent – in stunning 360 degree panoramas?
I reached out to the Google Maps team in Mountain View, California, thinking the idea would be rejected immediately. I met with one of the Street View leads and pitched my idea. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but the response blew me away. “That’s cool, let’s make it happen”.
And just like that, a year long project kicked off to capture a volcano like never before.
The organisation was monumental. Just as we resolved one logistical challenge, another presented itself. Slowly but surely, we overcame legal, access, filming and safety challenges to lock down a departure day – September 15, 2016.
We loaded the car to the brim with boxes and boxes of equipment and headed to the airport, bound for Port Vila.
With a few extra days before leaving for Ambrym, we made a snap decision to head south to the island of Tanna and visit Yasur Volcano. Unlike Ambrym, Yasur is renowned for its fiery strombolian eruptions. Arriving at White Grass Airport, Richard from Volcanic Village Vista collected us in his pickup truck.
After an hour or so, the road was replaced with the open expanse of the ash plain. The smoldering Yasur volcano was visible in the distance.
Volcanic Village Vista was a basic, yet comfortable accommodation with stunning views of the volcano. We got the tents up and then headed straight for the volcano.
To our surprise, the volcano had a very steep admission fee, but at least included transport to the summit. Yasur is incredibly easy to access. A short 10 min drive up, then a 2 min climb up some stairs and you’re standing on the crater edge. Be prepared for a show like no other.
Thunderous claps preceded a shower of red-hot projectiles and ash that towered over us. The eruptions were so intense, it almost felt unsafe. At times, multiple vents erupted simultaneously and occasionally lava bombs flew right over our heads. Our guide assured our safety was his top priority – then he left. We had the volcano all to ourselves.
As night fell, the fireworks show really got started. Like on a timer, every three minutes or so, huge columns of molten lava would erupt with such incredible force. We wanted to stay longer, but had to get back to Port Vila and kick off our expedition to Ambrym.
Back at Port Vila, we gathered at the domestic airport, meeting Geoff and Chris (from Ultimate Volcano Expeditions), the Streetview Operator and the Google team. We also had a number of journalists and cameramen accompanying us. The precious cargo containing the Streetview Trekkers had just arrived also.
Like previous expeditions, we took the fixed wing aircraft to Ulei, before using the helicopter to sling load all the gear to Hunters Hut where we spent the first night. The glow from this part of the island was intense. The next day, we shifted camp to the summit (the same location as the previous expedition).
The next morning, we woke to clear skies – a rarity on Ambrym. With favourable weather, we didn’t muck around and got rigged up. The plan was for Chris and myself to descend Marum and take the Trekker with us.
The descent was the most physically demanding thing I’d ever done. I had a 360 and go pro on my helmet, two DSLR cameras, tripod, food/water, the ascender and hundreds of meters of rope to carry. Chris carried the Trekker. To make it even more challenging, we experienced a small earthquake which dislodged large rocks around us. We couldn’t dodge them and just had to hope none came our way. I don’t want to exaggerate our circumstances, but this was a life threatening situation and something I’ll never forget.
Falling rocks over, we continued our descent. Marum was over three times as deep as my previous descent into Benbow and took over three hours before we finally stepped foot on the crater floor. This was a truly frightening place to be. Fresh rock falls were littered everywhere. I also witnessed small blue (So2) tornadoes.
And then there was the lava lake. It made Benbow (the previous crater I descended into) look like a baby – but this was quite a different beast. Whilst it wasn’t pulsing quite as much, it was much, much larger – probably 3x larger. And we were much closer to the lava this time. The heat was unbearable. Peering over the edge, there was barely 20 meters between us and lava. One could only stand there for a few seconds before succumbing to the heat. I thought my descent into Benbow was dangerous, but this took danger to a whole new level. Knowing that if anything happened, we had 500 meters of vertical, crumbly rock face between us and safety.
Even with the ever present danger, we had a job to do. To ensure the Trekker was capturing every moment. I also had to film the crater floor for the media eagerly awaiting up top.
Both us were keen to not hand around for too long so fired up the ascenders and started the slow ascent out. It was both physically and mentally demanding, carefully picking the next step and route up. Three hours later, we emerged. I was broken and basically collapsed, but felt a huge sense of achievement. We had got our footage. Mission successful. Shortly, millions of the people around the world would be viewing our descent on Google Maps. Its a great feeling knowing that many people around could at least get some appreciation of this special place from the comfort of their living rooms.
With our main mission under our belts, we had a few more days to muck around. We made a few more mini descents and returned to “the ledge” – a small ledge about 100 meters down, but providing some of the most dramatic photos of the lava lake. Due to the dry weather, dust devils were a common occurrence. I managed to plant the Go Pro and intersect one. After a few more days of just hanging out at the top of the volcano, the helicopter arrived are whisked us back to Port Vila.
This was perhaps the most ambitious volcano expedition thus far, but a highly rewarding one and something we can now share with the world via Google Maps.
You can view the footage we collected on Google Maps here