Asterix goes volcano chasing - its Gunung Sinabung now...

[asterixsg]

This was in end-Aug this year.

I had just returned from East Java. A news report caught my attention that said "Gunung Sinabung wakes up from its 400 year sleep"

Huh ? Where's this Gunung Sinabung ? Never even heard of it.

A quick search on the internet showed that it was in North Sumatra. Click, click, click. Search here, search there. Its so near a town called Berastagi - never heard of it too. Unless you've gone to Lake Toba, you would'nt even have bothered to find out about Berastagi.

Quick. Quick. Quick. Check LP Guide. How to get to Berastagi ? From Medan. How to get to Medan ? Silkair flies direct. BRAVO !!!

Called up my friend, Jia Hao. "Dude, we are going to Medan this weekend. This is our chance of watching a LIVE volcano. Up, close and personal."

I didn't give him a chance to protest :bsmilie:

Called up a guesthouse in Berastagi, Wisma Sibayak.
Do you have rooms available ?
Yes.
Good. Can you arrange for a car to pick us up from Medan ? We are coming this weekend.
OK.

Quickly booked tickets by Silkair for that weekend. It was never this easy

Well, with the easy part taken care of, now we were at the mercy of Mother Nature. And knowing my history of weather karma, as I looked at the satellite images, we were greeted with thick cloud cover over North Sumatra :mad2: Why, oh Why ? What had I done so wrong ? Anways, tickets had been booked, so put the plan in execution...

There were 3 eruptions on the day we arrived in Berastagi, but we missed all of them. One was at 430 in the morning, we hadn't even reached Berastagi. One was around 6 PM and we had just returned to the guesthouse as visibility was so so so poor because of thick cloud cover. But we did see a black plume of smoke from our guesthouse. And another, a small one, around midnight. We weren't fast asleep, but we didn't know about it until the following morning...

This photo was taken on the 2nd day of our stay in Berastagi.

1. Sinabung from a safe distance

2. Fresh lava flow

On the first day, we got the van that had picked us from from Medan to drive all around Sinabung. It was a damn stupid thing to do, but when there is an adrenalin rush, all common sense goes for a toss.

We went within 2 km of the volcano. Had it erupted, I doubt I would be here posting this...

 

[SK1968]

hahaha, u are really insanely chasing volcanoes but do be careful as we all still want to see your interesting and nice photos

 

[hanzohattori]

Quick. Quick. Quick. Check LP Guide. How to get to Berastagi ?

Its one stop away from Beras Basah Stn :bsmilie:
I'm eager to see more picture

 

[asterixsg]

hahaha, u are really insanely chasing volcanoes but do be careful as we all still want to see your interesting and nice photos

Thanks bro. I don't think my time will come so soon, so I can still take some chances.
But will cut down on my insanity :bsmilie:

Its one stop away from Beras Basah Stn :bsmilie:
I'm eager to see more picture

That was funny !!!

Looks like you are the only one eager to see more photos. So, here's one for you...

3. Fresh ash dumped by Sinabung

We drove around all the villages on the slopes of Sinabung. All the houses were locked up and except for some stray dogs and goats, there was no one. Was quite an eerie feeling. Occasionally, a villager would drive past on this motorbike, probably fetching something from his house and going back to the evacuation camps in Berastagi town.

 

[tsjcsl]

While I admire the passion you have, I really hesitate to encourage you. I really hope it is safe. I am eager to see more photos too, but not if it puts you at risk.

 

[asterixsg]

While I admire the passion you have, I really hesitate to encourage you. I really hope it is safe. I am eager to see more photos too, but not if it puts you at risk.

Thanks for your concern. These are photos from early Sep '10 when Sinabung was active for couple of weeks. It has since gone back to sleep.

I am very much alive n kickin. Except for a couple of hours when we drove through abandoned villages and when we went to take a close look at the newly formed crater n lava flow, it wasn't really dangerous.

Anyways, don't have too many photos that are worth sharing. Another couple maybe, as I sift through the photos that I took.

Cheers.

 

[pupuce]

love your passion.. thanks for sharing with us the photos which tells a story which we would not have seen.

 

[nuts]

Cool, thanks for sharing!
Have you encountered those red lava flowing scene? Have always wondered about those red lava flow/burst images and how they managed to shoot those.....

........

2. Fresh lava flow

On the first day, we got the van that had picked us from from Medan to drive all around Sinabung. It was a damn stupid thing to do, but when there is an adrenalin rush, all common sense goes for a toss.

We went within 2 km of the volcano. Had it erupted, I doubt I would be here posting this...

 

[MGohzxc]

Good morning Uncle Asterixsg,
Amazing scapes.:thumbsup:
You are very brave and I admire your courage.:thumbsup:
Take care please.

 

[asterixsg]

love your passion.. thanks for sharing with us the photos which tells a story which we would not have seen.

Thanks pupuce. We all love stories, don't we ?

Cool, thanks for sharing!
Have you encountered those red lava flowing scene? Have always wondered about those red lava flow/burst images and how they managed to shoot those.....

No, haven't encountered red lava flows. The closest was when Merapi blew and I got to see an eerie red glow along the western flanks caused by the lava that was flowing to the south at that time.

I do hope to visit Stromboli and Etna next year when there is some activity. They have spectacular fireworks. The real ones unlike what we see in Singapore :bsmilie:

My friend James, who is a pro-videographer, shot this video of the Lava lake at Marum Crater, Ambrym Island in Vanuatu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8bkFSxTSDI

Now, that is MADNESS !!!

Good morning Uncle Asterixsg,
Amazing scapes.:thumbsup:
You are very brave and I admire your courage.:thumbsup:
Take care please.

Thanks Manita. There's no bravery and courage involved here. Just a little bit of passion and the desire to view one of nature's beautiful phenomenon.

 

[asterixsg]

4. Trees destroyed by lava flow

Nothing is spared in its way when lava flows...

5. More ash...

 

[asterixsg]

For such a small town as Berastagi, it sure is very very noisy. Couldn't sleep much that night because of the noise from the traffic. In between, Sinabung had a small eruption past midnight, which went unnoticed.

We woke up at 2 in the morning, and hiked up another volcano nearby called Sibayak. Sibayak is an active volcano with a couple of steaming craters. The sulphur emissions are very strong too. However, its one of the easiest volcanoes to climb, next only to Bromo. I wouldn't even call Bromo a volcano - where in the world would you find 250 steps up a volcano ? Sorry, I digress.

It was an easy 90 minutes hike. Think we made it to the top by 4 AM, much ahead of the sun...

Sat in the freezing wind, trying to find shelter behind rocks. Thick clouds covered the sun as it came up. Bad karma at play :cry:

Anyways, we hiked up to the real summit at day break. There is a monitoring station with equipment to monitor all activity on Sibayak, probably due to the fact that its much closer to Berastagi and poses a much bigger threat than Sinabung.

Won't bore you with more photos. The credit to this last photo goes to my friend Jia Hao, who composed it, then ran to the place where I was sitting and all that the guide had to do was press the shutter

6. On top of Gunung Sibayak with Sinabung in the background

Its adieu for now...

 

[michael chick]

You were at Brastagih? I was very close by at Medan and then Samosir, where I shot the following 2 pixes


Dusk at Samosir

and Infra Red at Medan

Anyway, there a new volcano which just burped... Mt Bromo near Surabaya. You gonna head there?

pix taken from the news report here:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article919999.ece

I'm just next door, in Bali

Cheers Bro

 

[asterixsg]

Thanks for sharing.

I was at Berastagi in the first week of Sep.

Already been to Bromo in August this year, one week before I went to Berastagi.

I spoke to the friends I made at Lava view lodge in Cemero Lawang, and heard that Bromo is not so active anymore. No plans to head there. Its quite an expensive trip to fly to Surabaya, rent a car to Cemero Lawang.

Moreover, I donated the money I had set aside for my next trip, to the victims of Merapi eruption. So, no more travel plans for sometime now...

 

[michael chick]

Yo friend. Bromo just "burped" 2 days ago !!!

Read this link:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article919999.ece

And, if you're still in Indonesia, you should be hearing it all over the news.

 

[asterixsg]

Yo friend. Bromo just "burped" 2 days ago !!!

Read this link:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article919999.ece

And, if you're still in Indonesia, you should be hearing it all over the news.

Thanks Michael, for the info. My news is from 25 Nov, a day after Bromo erupted for the first time. I didn't bother to follow up anymore, as I don't have any plans to visit there...

Do share photos if you head to Bromo. The best place to witness Bromo's eruptions would be from Lava View Lodge. I am sure you would know that if you've been there before...

Cheers.

PS : No, I am not in Indonesia and no immediate plans of travelling to Indonesia too...

 

[michael chick]

Am in Bali. Not planning on heading there either, and I thought you were in Indonesia.
No problems. just giving you the heads-up. Didn't want you to miss this "burping" hahahahaha

Am headed to Borneo next week