Australians in Bali during 2017 volcano eruption warn others to take out travel insurance
Brisbane woman Teresa was excited about her girls' trip to Bali in 2017.
Her group even extended their trip to enjoy the Indonesian holiday island a little longer.
But when the time came to fly home, Bali's Mount Agung threw their plans into chaos.
The volcano erupted in November of that year, causing some 150,000 residents to evacuate from their homes nearby.
Bali's busy Denpasar airport was also closed due to ash fall from the mountain.
"The whole thing was a debacle," said Teresa, who is again in Bali for a holiday.
She told the ABC she was "experiencing deja vu".
Bali airport has reopened following this week's eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the nearby island of Flores, but holiday-makers are warned that disruptions may continue.
But Teresa, who only wants to be identified by her first name, said this time she didn't make the same mistake as in 2017 — not taking out travel insurance.
During the previous trip, only one of Teresa's friends had travel insurance.
"She was able to get a Singapore Airlines flight out quickly, about three days after the eruption," she said.
"One friend was flown to Sydney where the airport was closed at the time and there was no accommodation available.
It was a similar story for another one of her friends, who was flying home to Perth but had to stay overnight in Darwin.
"The airport there was closed at night. She sat on her suitcase until the next morning," she said.
For Teresa, it took just over a week to leave Bali — and even then it wasn't a direct trip home.
"I had to fly to Melbourne first, then I got put into a run-down motel the airline had booked for the passengers," she said.
Indonesia's transport ministry said some 14,000 travellers had been affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki.
They said despite the airport returning to normal operations, a backlog of passengers was expected to take some time to clear.
A number of flights between capital cities and Bali scheduled for Wednesday morning were cancelled after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted on Tuesday evening.
Others slated for Wednesday evening were delayed for hours.
Indonesian authorities raised the volcanic alert to the highest level and two villages were evacuated.
Denpasar airport operators said in a statement on Wednesday that 87 flights were affected by the eruption — 66 international and 21 domestic.
The international flights affected included legs to and from Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Perth, Sydney, Singapore, Auckland, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City.
Andrew was in the Indonesian city of Bandung during Mount Agung's eruption in 2017.
He said unlike Teresa's experience, having travel insurance covered the cost of his cancelled flight and accommodation.
"My flight from Bandung to Bali was cancelled, so I had to stay a few extra days until a flight was available," he told the ABC.
Andrew managed to get a flight to Lombok, where he stayed overnight.
The next morning, he caught a boat to Bali, where he now lives.
"My travel insurance covered everything," he said.
These experiences reiterate how travel insurance is "essential protection" for holidays, said CHOICE insurance expert Jodi Bird.
"The volcano affecting travel to Bali is a perfect example. If you bought your travel insurance in time, it will help you with the cost of cancelling or rescheduling your holiday," Mr Bird told the ABC.
Mr Bird said in order to be covered for natural disasters, you need to buy travel insurance before the incident becomes "a known event".
Otherwise, it could be too late.
An event becomes "known" when it is publicised in the media, or official government websites, like the government's Smartraveller.
"For a major event, like the Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, many insurers will publish advice on their website about when you needed to buy the policy to be covered," Mr Bird said.
However, he said some insurers have cut off cover in the last few days: "The trick is to know your destination and buy travel insurance when you book your trip."
Travel insurance can be purchased from a direct insurance company, or through travel agencies like Webjet and Flight Centre. In other cases, some credit card providers offer complimentary travel insurance as a perk.
When choosing a policy, it is important to understand the coverage and exclusions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
‘Danger is always lurking': Experts reveal what happens if you fall into an active volcano
The plight of a young Brazilian tourist who fell into an active volcano in Indonesia has raised questions about the dangers of trekking in the country, which is made up of some 17,000 islands and sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire'. 26-year-old Juliana Marins, a publicist and pole dancer from Rio de Janeiro, had been trying to summit Mount Rinjani, the second highest volcano in Indonesia, when she slipped and fell last week. While Rinjani is an 'active' volcano, it is not currently erupting and the last recorded eruption was in 2016 which caused a 2 kilometre ash plume but no fatalities. It has the potential to erupt periodically, unlike other volcanoes which are extinct, but it is not under 'alert' at the moment, meaning that an eruption is not considered imminent. Global health expert and medical doctor at YARSI University in Jakarta, Dr Dicky Budiman, explained to that Rinjani is extremely high with deep ravines, extreme temperatures and volcanic gases. 'If people fall while trekking, they can sustain multiple broken bones and traumatic head injuries which are the most dangerous and can be fatal,' he said. 'If people survive the initial fall, there are other risks such as poisonous gases and extreme temperatures which can cause asphyxia and hypothermia. 'When trekking on active volcanoes, there can be extremely high temperatures around thermal vents and poisonous gases which are colourless and have no smell, and can poison you without you knowing, causing you to have breathing problems, asphyxiate and die. 'Hypothermia can happen if victims fall into a crater lake and are in the water for a long time, but if they fall into an active crater, victims can also suffer from burns from piping hot steam or scorching hot surfaces.' Dr Budiman added that hikers should always follow the official paths and should not try to find alternative or illegal routes on mountainsides. They should also use local guides and follow their advice. He added that many foreign hikers in Indonesia were often ill prepared as the local terrain was very different to their home countries, and that anyone planning to trek in Indonesia should make sure that they were physically fit enough before starting out. 'Danger is always lurking' Local guides from across Indonesia, including those familiar with Rinjani, told that trekking in the country, which has some 130 active volcanoes, always carried some risk and that survival rates could be low if climbers found themselves in trouble. Samsul, who like many Indonesian goes by one name, is a local guide in Banten Province who has led tours around the Anak Krakatau volcano and Ujung Kulon National Park. He explained that safety protocols and planning were the key to staying safe. 'When you do an activity like this, you need to be extra careful and always double check to ensure that all members of the trek are accounted for,' he said. 'All recreational places are dangerous, in fact the dangerous ones are the ones that present the most interesting challenges and are like magnets for trekkers. 'Danger is always lurking, so you can't be even a little careless. A seasoned guide constantly needs to warn hikers about dangers along the climbing path which can cause slipping and falling, and other hazards such as fallen trees, potential landslides or loose rocks.' He added that this advice did not just apply to mountains and volcanoes, but that visitors to Indonesia needed to be mindful of safety whether they were in mountainous areas, forests and jungles, or the water. Another local climber Ajo, who previously worked as a guide leading trekkers to Mount Marapi which means 'Mountain of Fire' and is located in West Sumatra Province, said that, in his experience, it was rare for anyone to survive a fall while trekking – especially if evacuation was not carried out immediately due to poor weather or remote terrain. 'Usually people will have sustained injuries when they fall which will affect their ability to survive,' he explained. 'If you fall with inadequate protective equipment, it can be very dangerous to vulnerable parts of your body like your head and that makes the potential for death high. 'Trekking in Indonesia is inherently dangerous. However, the risk can be minimised with thorough preparation and knowledge of the dangers.' He added that just some of the perils included extreme weather, difficult terrain, the risk of getting lost, injury and wild animals. 'Besides that, the characteristics of each mountain are different, and sometimes that is what makes trekking dangerous and risky. Before trekking or climbing, we must know all about the specifics of the local terrain.' Ahmad Syamsul Hadi, a member of parliament for Central Lombok, told that Rinjani 'offers some of the best trekking in Indonesia' and was no more hazardous than other mountains across the country as long as tourists took appropriate precautions. 'There are of course challenges to trekking Rinjani, and you need to be physically fit and have a lot of stamina. 'The terrain is changeable and not in a straight line to the summit. 'The route takes you up and down, on flat paths, then hiking trails and then downhill. So it takes a lot of energy. 'It is not recommended that you attempt to trek by yourself if you are a beginner. It is not just a case of walking around a mountain for a few hours, you need to be much more prepared.' He added that, if things went wrong on a trek, it was often a race against time. 'People need to be rescued within 72 hours to have a chance of survival, especially if they do not have any food or water with them,' he said. 'The weather is also quite extreme on Rinjani due to its elevation of some 3000 metres and it is extremely cold.' Hadi said however that the Indonesian authorities were highly experienced in recovering stranded tourists, and that three separate helicopters had been dispatched to try and rescue Marins, with the governor of East Nusa Tenggara personally overseeing the mission in an effort to bring her home safely. 'We hope that everyone will be safe. We hope for the best,' he said. Fadli, who has worked as a porter on Rinjani for the past three years, carrying supplies and luggage for climbers, told that 'all mountains are dangerous'. 'The challenges on Rinjani are the same as other mountains in Indonesia, but the biggest problem is that climbers are often ill prepared when they attempt to summit the mountain and then descend. 'Examples of this would be not bringing enough water or food, or not bringing essential medication with them.' Fadli put survival rates of trekkers at 'about 50 per cent' if they suffered a fall, especially if they were close to the summit of a mountain where terrifyingly steep ravines can be between 500 metres to one kilometre deep and 'covered in loose rocks'. 'If a victim falls and gets snagged on a rock, there is a higher chance of survival, but if they just keep on falling, the chance decreases,' he said.
The Australian
a day ago
- The Australian
Katy Perry snapped with cute Aussie quokka on Rottnest Island
No trip to WA is complete without an obligatory quokka selfie and international superstar Katy Perry is no exception. The Firework singer took some time out from her Lifetimes tour in Perth to visit Rottnest Island and took a photo with arguably the nation's most adorable animal. Perry shared photos from her visit on social media where she can be seen dancing on a beach, riding a bike, playing cards and hanging out on a boat with her crew as they make their way to 'Rotto.' 'Mood: Quokka,' she wrote on social media. Singer Katy Perry visits Rottnest Island while she was in Perth for The Lifetimes Tour. Picture: Facebook Katy Perry shared adorable quokka selfies while she was in Perth for The Lifetimes Tour. Picture: Facebook Katy Perry took time out with her crew on The Lifetimes Tour to visit Rottnest Island in Perth. Picture: Facebook Perry follows in the footsteps of other celebrities who make the 19km journey by sea to visit the native animals that inhabit Rottnest Island located off Perth's coastline. Famous faces that have made a quokka selfie synonymous with a trip to WA include Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie, Roger Federer, Hugh Jackman, Kelly Slater, Shawn Mendes and K-pop group Blackpink. The singer is now in Adelaide to play two concerts before she returns to the US and Canada where she will continue her tour.
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
International pop superstar Katy Perry tours Rottnest Island in WA for a quokka selfie
No trip to WA is complete without an obligatory quokka selfie and international superstar Katy Perry is no exception. The Firework singer took some time out from her Lifetimes tour in Perth to visit Rottnest Island and took a photo with arguably the nation's most adorable animal. Perry shared photos from her visit on social media where she can be seen dancing on a beach, riding a bike, playing cards and hanging out on a boat with her crew as they make their way to 'Rotto.' 'Mood: Quokka,' she wrote on social media. Perry follows in the footsteps of other celebrities who make the 19km journey by sea to visit the native animals that inhabit Rottnest Island located off Perth's coastline. Famous faces that have made a quokka selfie synonymous with a trip to WA include Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie, Roger Federer, Hugh Jackman, Kelly Slater, Shawn Mendes and K-pop group Blackpink. The singer is now in Adelaide to play two concerts before she returns to the US and Canada where she will continue her tour.
