Australian Phil McNamara filmed the instant when Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea exploded; footage shows the shockwaves, records the sonic boom

Tourist captures the moment Mount Tavurvur volcano explodes on Papua New Guinea. Photo is a screen grab from the amazing video

Australian Phil McNamara filmed the instant when Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea exploded; footage shows the shockwaves, records the sonic boom

By David Strege, GrindTV
September 07, 2014

Australian tourists Phil and Linda McNamara were vacationing with friends in Papua New Guinea when they decided to get a closer look at Mount Tavurvur, a volcano they had visited only days before when it was dormant.

“It was a spur of the moment thing to head out and film the volcano,” Phil McNamara told the Brisbane Times of Australia. “We saw it erupting and the ladies from Kokopo Beach Bungalows, where we were staying, said they could take us out on the boat to get a closer look.

“I thought I might as well try and capture something you rarely get to see.”

And capture something rare he did. This is absolutely amazing:

Holy smoking Toledos is right.

Not only do you see the huge plume of smoke and ash when Mount Tavurvur explodes, you see the clouds ripple from the shockwaves above the volcano. Phil McNamara warned those on the boat that the shock was coming and—boom!—it came seconds later.

You could almost feel it while watching the video. The people on the boat sure did, as you could tell from the shake in the camera.

McNamara told the Brisbane Times that the touring party “absolutely crapped themselves” when the sonic boom hit.

Linda McNamara posted the video on Facebook on Wednesday and its popularity began gaining speed around the Internet ever since. The Brisbane Times reported Saturday that media companies from around the world were beating a path to McNamara’s door.

“It’s a bit of a surprise really,” said Phil McNamara, 58, a taxi driver from Townsville, Australia. “There’s been a lot of interest.”

Indeed, and for obvious reasons.