Thirty-year-old explorer Alison Teal became the "first woman to surf out to the base of an erupting volcano". If there was a world record for breaking a world record at a specific place under specific conditions, Teal's would be a frontrunner. But when you have professional photographers to capture the wonders of nature: fast-flowing water and hot lava spewing out of volcano – it is difficult not to be catapulted into viral fame.

What's apparent from the video above is that very little surfing is involved. It's more a case of Teal paddling in the waters near the volcano at what seems to be a sufficiently safe distance. But so what – the visuals make for a breathtaking experience.

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There is nothing scarier that seeing hot lave erupting from an volcano, nothing more majestic that watching the glory of the ocean's waves in full flow. And somewhere in the image, there is a tiny woman paddling against the current and holding on for dear life.

In a Facebook post that warned people not to attempt a similar stunt, Teal called it "one of the most powerful moments" of her life. She wrote, "With the guidance, support, and prayer of the elders, and following cultural protocol, I paddled within feet of hot lava rivers pouring into the ocean. It was humbling and breathtaking. The rawness, the heat, the crackling & hissing sounds, the reality check that we live on a planet that is alive."

The videos below are Teal's pieces to the camera, where she excitedly points to the molten lava to her left and the double rainbow to her right all the while struggling to stay afloat.