Thursday August 8th to Friday, August 9th - On Top of A Volcano - Mount Bromo

 

First Light of Dawn Reveals Mount Bromo

I chose this trip with Nathan in hope of getting a photograph just like this. Other people's photos looked magical and I wanted my own. So yes - this is MY photo! It's also the first time I've managed to photograph stars with my DSLR!

However, you won't be surprised to learn that it is more complicated than it looks! 

First, it's worth noting that we're doing a triple-header here with UNESCO World Heritage Sites! This one is the third UNESCO site for us in as many days!  Mount Bromo is one of the peaks in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park here on Java. At nearly 8,000 feet above sea level, it lies 436 feet above the sandy floor of a caldera that was formed by a huge mountain over 250,000 years ago. It is speculated that Mount Tengger was close to 15,000 feet high and its top half collapsed about 45,000 years ago following an eruption that would have been as large as Krakatoa. This caldera was created by that explosion and the resulting Tengger Caldera you see here is over 5 miles in diameter. 

This is How It's Done - King Kong Hill Viewpoint

Before we dig into more specifics about this peak, I need to let you know that I have jumped a day to start our story with this fabulous venue - we'll come back to our journey from Yogyakarta later. We arrived at our hotel after dark on Wednesday night, knowing that we would have to be out of the hotel at 1:30 am on Thursday morning for our jeep rides to the 9,500 foot high viewpoint (King Kong Hill!) on the edge of the Tengger Caldera. Here is where we were to set up our tripods. We had been warned that it gets cold and windy up there in spite of being in the tropics.

Now, tripods and I have never been great friends at the best of times, so I knew that setting up in the dark and in the freezing cold without enough sleep was going to challenge me. I was all prepared with headlamp, gloves, hat, long underwear, rain jacket, fleece jacket....... and even then when the little ladies came around offering to rent us blankets, I agreed with most others that it was a brilliant idea in addition to all the other clothing! Brrr - that wind was biting!

Some hot cocoa, fried bananas and tempeh helped to ease the discomfort of waiting once we were set up. It was a welcomed tidbit.

Nathan pointed us in a general direction and said, 'there's a mountain out there!' It was an act of faith to orient our tripods and cameras 'out there' into the pitch black! 

Nathan Was Right - There Is a Mountain Out There! Bromo Revealed!

But, oh, how magical it was as the first rays of light revealed the scene! I don't believe I have experienced anything quite like it. We were treated to Bromo pushing out quite a lot of steam and other gases - that's what is forming the lovely clouds floating across our view from left to right. The reason this is complicated is that there are actually a number of different mountains here. Bromo is the one on the left that is smoking and it is only one of five vents that emerged from the floor of the Tengger Caldera. The almost perfect cone-like peak in front is Mount Batok. But wait - what's that other smoker at the back of the photo? 

Mount Semeru 

The lovely, tall volcano at the back is Mount Semeru. It stands 12,060 ft above sea level and is the tallest mountain on Java. It is also a very active volcano and considere. Every now and then it sent out a little 'puff' of  smoke. It lies outside the Tengger Caldera, but in spite of this, all the peaks combine to create a most beautiful scene.

Most Visitors Focused on the Sun

While our eyes were focused on the sun's rays lighting up Bromo and its companions, many of the other visitors had their eyes turned to the sun, with accompanying cheers when it broke the horizon. 

The National Park Management limits the number of daily visitors to around 3,000, and charges a small fee for entry. Bromo is the most popular tourist attraction in Indonesia - for locals and foreigners. We were very fortunate this day, as the road was closed not long after we passed through, due to a fire. How disappointing it would have been to be turned back. Our earlier than usual start to beat the crowds had paid off! By the time we were ready to return, all had been cleared. 

Panoramic view

(Perhaps I should rename this blog to be 'how many ways can you photograph the same place and get a different result!')

As you see off in the background, we were above the regular layer of clouds - occasional peaks could be seen poking through off in the distance.

The Tengger Sand Sea

Once the magical light passed, we were able to tear ourselves away from the terrace on King Kong Hill, and visited another viewpoint on our way back to the hotel for breakfast and rest. This perspective allowed us to see, really well, the flat sand sea that fills the caldera - from years of ash and other pyroclastics falling into it from Bromo. It is the only desert environment in Indonesia and doesn't make a great surface for walking. In order to make it easier for people to climb Mount Bromo, the local Tenggerese people use horses to traverse this 'sea of sand'.

Tenggerese Rider on 'Rainbow' - Mount Batok In the Background

When one is on a photography trip with Nathan, the combined prospect of black sand, horses and volcanoes offers a stage for a magnificent white horse with and his rider to give us an opportunity for some artistic shots. Nathan is masterful at conceptualizing these images and makes arrangements with the people needed to make them possible. 

Happily, we had eaten lunch and been able to catch up with some sleep before we ventured out to test our skills with this photographic challenge.

Rainbow Shows His Strides

The task involves fast shutter speeds, laser focus, a steady hand and a camera that allows a rapid succession of shots to catch the feet, eyes, tail, mane in exactly the right place. Then the trick is to process the photos in Lightroom a way that still leaves them natural-looking, but with increased drama. The images above are my best efforts!

Gotta Wait For the Cyclist to Pass

The sandy surface is not boggy - it's pretty hard packed - so it provided a great surface for vehicles. Each time one came by, we had to stop, as they would spook the horse. There were plenty of motorbikes........

The 'Official' Bromo Transportation

.... and jeeps. If we had been there in the morning, this task would have been impossible, as hundreds of jeeps like this one carry many people across the caldera to climb Mount Bromo. They are the only vehicles approved to take people to the viewing point we had used this morning.

Feed for Horses?

My favorite interruption was this fellow who was tootling along, smoking a cigarette and trailing his load behind him! You can see little bits of the grass falling off behind him!

Our Transport Across the Sea of Sand

Having enjoyed the beauty of Rainbow and his rider, it's now our turn, as we are going to join those pilgrims who stare down into the face of the volcano. In fact, it IS a pilgrimage, as the word 'Bromo' derives from the Javanese word for Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. The building you see at the top right hand side of the photo is a Hindu temple - Luhu Poten. Festivals are held here where devotees climb to the top of the crater and make offerings by throwing things into the crater. Among them might be money, flowers, fruit, vegetables, chickens and goats. When we expressed our concern about the livestock gong in - our guide said that people climb down to retrieve them! Oh my! One hoped they didn't have to go too far for those poor goats and chickens!

My Horse and Guide

My pilgrimage began with about eight hands having to help lift me onto my noble steed - knees, butt, legs - all were fair game in the very inelegant process. My knee just refused to lift me in the stirrup! I felt sorry for the horse as I grabbed on to whatever would help!

The Way was Steep - Luhu Poten Is On the Caldera's Floor

The horses took the brunt of the climb, bringing us to this point, which was quite steep, even for them.

The Rest Of the Way is Up to Us!

I was glad for the steps - even though there were 250 of them! I also appreciated that it was evening and many other visitors were gone. My slow and steady pace would have been a terrible obstacle among the crowds that were here in the morning. This way I just set about climbing with my trusty walking pole - one step at a time!

Staring Into The Earth's Cauldron

I made it and found it surprisingly gentle. I could smell the sulfur and hear sounds of gurgling far below. Here's a video for you.

Being there was a very powerful experience for me - it sits at the top of my list of encounters with the earth's heat and power that lies far beneath our feet.

Idol of Ganesh - Hindu God of Wisdom

Being on the edge of that crater did not feel dangerous in and of itself. I knew that scientists monitor these sites constantly and trusted that things were stable for now. However, the path around the top was relatively narrow and in places the concrete and rebar supports had been eroded away by the gases. You can see here the crumbling and rusting of the concrete surrounding that shrine. 

And So the Day Ends....

There were not many left on the crater. All the others in my group had gone down, yet I savored the moment just a little longer, as the sun cast it's glow on horizon again.

Headed Back Down those 250 Steps!

Once I got to the bottom of the steps, my horse and guide were still there and had the wisdom to help me mount from a ledge - allowing both horse and I to retain some dignity. Happily, the guide walks alongside the horse so all I had to do was hang on. I could only imagine how many times both of them had already made this journey today. The dismount at the cars was accomplished, a good tip was given and it was 'home' for the night after a long and very satisfying day.

Dawn Arrives on Friday - Cabbage Plots at Lava Lodge

The following day, a few of us ventured out close to dawn to see what type of view the hotel offered. It is located above the sea of sand. It was called Lava View Lodge, so I was curious to see what view it offered of our marvelous volcano.

Bromo and Batok

I was astonished! Was this really the same mountain we saw yesterday?! Bromo was hardly creating any steam and I don't think that's even Semeru in the background. For me it was a powerful message about the importance of perspective and light when it comes to photography. I am so glad I had experienced it so well the previous day at a higher altitude, earlier in the day and a better perspective. The fact that Bromo had been smoking so well was just a bonus!

The View I want to Remember!

Next time I'll fill in the gap about our journey to get here from Yogyakarta. It had some moments worth telling - but it would too much for now. We'll just keep this one for Bromo!