May 30, 2010 – www.WILDNATUREPHOTOTRAVEL.com

Unfortunately I have had to cut my photographic trip to Mungo, Mildura and the Walls of China a couple of days shorter than I had originally intended. Pretty much non stop rain for the last 48 hours meant that the road into Mungo and the Walls of China was a total quagmire and closed; combined with unforeseen circumstances at the office in Melbourne and it was time to throw in the towel on this trip and head home.

I did manage to squeeze in some photography between the rain storms at the Perry Sandhills near Wentworth in New South Wales as well as an old abandoned house near Charlton in Victoria that I stumbled across on the way home; so the trip was not a complete write off. The road into Perry Sandhills was in a similar state to the road into Mungo. Soft sand, combined with days of rain turned the whole thing into something akin to quicksand and I nearly got bogged several times just getting into the car park. I am pretty tired after more than fourteen hours of driving in the last two days but will post some more photographs from the trip soon. I am not looking forward to washing the BM!

RSEO is reporting 28/05/2010: Katla is the second largest volcano in the country of Iceland, and Iceland’s president is issuing a warning saying that the eruption of Katla is close. Icelandic president Ólafur Grímsson has warned other governments around Europe “that a significant eruption at the volcano is close.” “We [Iceland] have prepared … it is high time for European governments and airline authorities all over Europe and the world to start planning for the eventual Katla eruption,” he said. Europe is still experiencing clouds of volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajokull that erupted in April. Airlines all over the world have lost significant flight time and money due to flights being cancelled as a result of the ash clouds. An eruption of Katla, the second largest volcano is Iceland, could spell even more trouble. There has been speculation about Katla since the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull. Katla is the larger of the two volcanos. The planet appears to be in a perpetual state of unrest. From today’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Vanuatu to the pending eruption of Katla in Iceland; it seems like Mother Nature is kicking up her well worn heels.

My Take on the Situation -“a significant eruption at the volcano is close” What does this really mean? In and of itself, not much as how does one define ‘close’?. Was Ólafur Grímsson speaking in geological terms? Or, was he indeed referring to the possibility of an eruption any moment? We know historically that Katla is usually triggered by an eruption at Eyjafjallajokull. Its just a matter of when not if Katla erupts. It could happen tomorrow or it might not happen for years. Increased seismic activity at Katla points to sooner rather than later; but ‘sooner’ could still be some way off. As the clock ticks down to my own trip to Iceland trip I am growing ever more concerned about when ‘sooner’ might be.