Ah, The Volcano is acting up. The risk is one of pyroclastic flows, which are very dangerous.
So far it's only roaring and spitting ash/smoke.
I climbed Gunung Dukono in North Halmahera 2 days ago and could hear Gamkonora roaring in the West.
Some ash reached Tobelo (ca 100 kms away) , but that's as much as any area tourists are even remotely likely to visit has got affected so far. Not that I've seen any tourists around here anyway...
Laszlo, I'm in Tobelo right now and planning to climb Dukono tomorrow. Not knowing the way I'm planning to find a "guide" to take me up there. Is that necessary? Could you let me know where the track starts and whether I could find it by myself? Did Dukono show any decent signs of activity when you climbed it? Is it worth spending a night there in the hope to seeing some small explosions as the VSI website indicates are relatively frequent?
Thanks for any info you may have in advance. Do you also happen to know anything about Gunung Ibu and the trail there? I found this line to be an inspiration to visit that one too while I'm in the area: " Gunung Ibu terus-menerus mengeluarkan lava" (from Tempointeraktif).
I would recommend getting a guide in Mamuya for Dukono - I guess it's over by now.
I only climbed Gunung Gamkonora, not Gunung Ibu.
Thanks Laszlo. I actually did end up climbing Dukono from Mamuya but without a guide. I was told at the volcanology office that the path is very clear which it wasn't at the end but oh well. Was it erupting at all when you were there? I only saw some sulfur gas and glow at night, but no explosions at all.
As for Gamkonora, when did you climb it? I thought it's forbidden to climb right now cause of the eruption a few weeks ago?
I climbed Gunung Ibu two days ago from Duono. Along came the guide and Aleks who mentioned you btw. Rought trek up but a nice mountain! Thanks again for your response!
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