Mount St. Helens, this is it: 1998

At 8:32 a.m. on May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

Shaken by an earthquake, measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of the volcano collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. A gap occurred in the mountain, allowing the release of pent-up pressure that erupted laterally in a huge blast. A pyroclastic flow of pumice, superheated ash and gas poured out of the crater. Nearly 230 square miles of forest was blown down or buried beneath volcanic deposits. At the same time a mushroom-shaped column of ash rose miles skyward and drifted downwind, turning day into night as dark, gray ash fell over eastern Washington and beyond. The eruption lasted 9 hours, but Mount St. Helens and the surrounding landscape were dramatically changed within moments.

Mount St. Helens, an impressive volcano in a landscape still devastated after all these years!

"Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!"

David A. Johnston - volcanologist on the eruption of Mount St. Helens (18 May 1980)

"The moon looks like a golf course compared to what's up there"

Jimmy Carter - US president on Mount St. Helens

18 April 1980, 8.32 am: Mount St Helens erupts. Gary Rosenquist captured the first minute in his world famous photo sequence:

08:32:21.0 am

08:32:47.0 am

08:32:49.2 am

08:32:53.3 am

08:33:03.7 am

08:33:18.8 am

Zambezi, white water rafting: 1997

Rafting the rapids off the mighty Zambezi, a once in a lifetime experience! An adrenaline rush, from the impressive Victoria Falls, down the beautiful Batoka Gorge. Nearly half of the rollercoaster like rapids are classified as Grade 5, Grade 6 is unrunnable.

Rapids of the 'Mighty' Zambezi:

4. Morning Glorie
5. Stairway to Heaven
6. Devil’s Toilet Bowl

7. Gulliver’s Travels

 

8. Midnight Diner - featuring the Muncher

9. Commercial Suicide

10. Gnashing Jaws of Death

11. Overland Truck Eater

 

12.a.b.c. The Three Ugly Sisters

13. The Mother

15. The washing Machine

16½.The Terminator

18. Oblivion

Etosha, the great white place: 1997

Southern Africa's Etosha is a vast and ancient land of seasonal paradox. During the blooming of the wet season, this an Eden of glorious abundance in which spring boks, elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, zebras, and giraffe thrive. It is also an Eden that slowly disappears when heat, drought and thirst put all life at risk, except for that of opportunistic vultures.

    
Burchell's Zebras

Wildebeasts

Sossusvlei, a sea of dunes: 1997

The Sossusvlei, Namibia's famous highlight in the heart of the Namib Desert, is a huge clay pan, enclosed by giant sand dunes. Some of the spectacular hills of sand are, at a height of 300 metres, the highest in the world.

Only after a heavy rainfall, which is a rare event in this area, does the vlei fill with water. As the clay layers hardly allow any water infiltration, a turquoise lake will remain for quite some time.

View from the top of Dune 45: a trail of dust behind an Overland Truck.

 
 

Tutankhamun, the golden mask: 1996

Probably the most stunning artefact from ancient times ever excavated, the golden mask of King Tutankhamun, on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

"I widened the breach and by means of the candle looked in ........

It was sometime before one could see, the hot air escaping caused the candle to flicker, but as soon as one's eyes became accustomed to the glimmer of light the interior of the chamber gradually loomed before one, with its strange and wonderful medley of extraordinary and beautiful objects heaped upon one another.

There was naturally short suspense for those present who could not see, when Lord Carnarvon said to me 'Can you see anything?'

I replied to him 'Yes, it is wonderful'."

Howard Carter opening King Tutankhamen's Tomb (26 November 1922)