Magic moments for kids

Despite the danger of eruption, Mt. Bromo is not a greatly impressive site as active volcanoes go, for adults and especially for children expecting National Geographic-style jets of lava.

While the climb up the crater is strenuous, you can rent a pony to take children most of the way up the slope, so they can reserve their energy for the long, steep staircase to the very top.

But their reaction may be one of disappointment, as all they will see is the smoke from the vent below, lined green with sulfur residue. And while we felt no sense of danger from the volcano itself on the day we visited, there was a real danger from overcrowding on the tiny fenced viewing area on the summit, which forced the children further round the lip of the crater to a very narrow flat strip with precipitous slopes either side.

To compensate for the unimpressive volcano, there is the wonderfully clean and cool air, and great walking trails along the ridge tops or threading through farm terraces.

The hotels up high, close to the mountain itself, are all quite basic, but cater to Western tastes in top sheets and simple restaurant menus. Again, what they lack in facilities they make up for in the wonderful landscape outside -- one that more closely resembles the moon than most earthly landscapes.

Steep slopes lead to a vast sea of volcanic sand, on the far side of which is a massive Hindu temple of the local Tengger people at the base of Bromo itself.

Behind it all, a much larger volcano, Semeru, has been erupting for the first time in three years.

This is all magic for kids: long pony rides around the caldera and across the sea of sand, imagining the temple as a lost city, the dry, cracked creek beds as rivers of poison and other people's rented ponies as enemies. When they finally take sanctuary in their secret mountain huts (their hotel), they will find they fortunately serve pancakes and hot chocolate.

-- Jacqueline Mackenzie