Monico Family Travels

With the kids under Gozza’s watchful eye, Robin and I had a free pass to spend the day exploring the wilder north of Bali. Without a plan, a clue or even much petrol we set off in the general direction of The North.

This part was easy to fix. Street petrol saves the day.

We decided to head for what we hoped would be a volcano, the point marked “Mt Batur” on the map. After 45 minutes of constant climb, we could feel a chill in the air and were surprised to stumble upon a gateway announcing our arrival at the UNESCO protected Geopark, raising our expectations and spirits.

Crater with Mt Batur in the middle (well, with Robin in front)

This huge crater was formed around 23,000 BC when an explosion of epic proportions blew its top off, leaving a hole about 15 miles across, with a cute little mini volcano right in the middle. Without any ado Robin announced “Let’s ride the crater,” which seemed like a great idea at the time …

… until we reached this unworldly landscape

… but we got the hang of it … kind off …

And we were so awestruck by the life in the crater that we just had to make a short movie of the adventure where you will see it is: lava rocks 1, scooters 0. Enjoy!