Travel: Mt St Helens Volcano, USA.

During a six week backpacking trip of Canada and N.W. USA in 2001, I visited the Mount St. Helens volcano. 

St. Helens erupted on May 18th 1980, an event I can vaguely recollect ( I was 7 years old) but such was the uniqueness of the event, it was a volcano that I enjoyed teaching in Geography teacher at the beginning of my career. 

Rather than erupting vertically like most volcanoes do, due to a blockage from previous eruptions, Mt St Helen's erupted  horizontally which had a devastating impact on the environment and the people who were to the north of the volcano. Wikipedia refers to the eruption as:

"the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed."   

It is thought that every living thing died in the blast area.  

The Impact of the Eruption

The impact can still be seen today.

Although the journey from highway to Mt. St Helens is approximately an hour, there was no visual evidence of the eruption because we arrived from the south. Upon arrival however, the devastation is clear to see, not least as you are confronted by the shell of the former mountain.

Unfortunately the cloud prevented a better picture. See below for a before and after shot.

The excellent visitor centre located at Johnson Ridge (named after the volcanologist David Johnston who was the first to die in the eruption) is well worth a look around and the cinema show drawn to a close by the curtains opening to reveal the mountain.

Another spectacular view was offered by a helicopter flight up the Toutle River and into the crater.

As we arrived at the volcano to our right, to the left was Spirit Lake which changed dramatically due to the eruption. The landslide at the beginning of the eruption caused a 800ft tsunami in the lake which uprooted thousands of trees. Spirit Lake is now 200ft higher than it was pre eruption. 

The pilot then flew us into the crater. What a buzz! 

Inside the Crater

Me and my buddy Ricki - 2001

    

Travel: Zimbabwe (1999)

As a Geographer, one of the key messages I send out to students is that the world around us is ever changing and sometimes this happens at an incredible rate. 

Last year I revisited Cape Town, 13 years after my first visit and I have to say that with the exception of Table Mountain I hardly recognised the place. I certainly didn't recognise the prices which are now comparable with most western cities and a far cry from the 40 pence beer I had enjoyed in 1999. 

On my backpacking trip of 1998/99 I flew from Perth, Australia to Harare in Zimbabwe for my first experience of Africa. Within 12 months of my trip Zimbabwe had become a no-go area as Robert Mugabe set about redistributing white farmers' land to 'his associates' (Wikipedia). Sometimes when you travel you visit a place which then changes beyond recognition... for the worse. I am so happy that I visited Zimbabwe when I did.

Zimbabwe is a  landlocked country in Southern Africa bordered by Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. I flew into the capital Harare and after a couple of days headed to Bulawayo on the train with some other backpackers I had met at the hostel. From Bulawayo I took a day trip into Matobo National Park ('A' on the map), the oldest national park in Zimbabwe. The park is located in an area of former volcanic activity which has left extensive granite features (The Mapotas Batholith) and which in some cases have eroded to form amazing balancing rock formations like the 'Mother and Child kopke' (below).

'Mother and Child'

Also in the park were some safari animals and I was able to see zebra, giraffe, elephant and White Rhino. 

White Rhino (honestly)

Then it was onto Victoria Falls and the unforgettable experience of flying over the Falls in an ultralight aircraft...

Click here - 

http://stephendcook.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/travel-victoria-falls-zimbabwe.html

Travel: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Visiting Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe gave me the opportunity to not just see one of the (unofficial) natural wonders of the world but also to do something that still today is one of the greatest things I have ever done in my life. 

I flew over the Falls at 5000 feet in an Ultralight Aircraft.

I still remember the experience vividly, how open the aircraft was, my French pilot, seeing elephants from 5000 ft up and my breath being taken away as we circled the Falls twice. 

Back to earth, I saw the Falls at ground level and were particularly impressive as there was a really heavy flow.

The Bungy bridge with jumper hanging

The final act in my Zimbabwe adventure was a sunset trip on the Zambezi River, which was sold to backpackers as a 'booze cruise'. I had some booze on the cruise and I remember meeting a bunch of South Africans on holiday and regaling many of my jokes. They even took a video of me telling a joke. The next day I was heading to their homeland, South Africa.