Incredible footage of a volcanic eruption shown sending a powerful shockwave rippling through the clouds above it has been captured by a holidaymaker.

Philip McNamara was on a boat off the coast of Papua New Guinea filming Mount Tavurvu in the distance when the volcano exploded, sending up a plume of ash and smoke.

The brave Australian tourist, a taxi driver from Townsville, Queensland, held steady to capture footage of one of nature’s most powerful and devastating spectacles.

The explosion happened on August 29, but the minute-long video was only shared on YouTube for the first time on Friday and has since been viewed more than 200,000 times.

Speaking to the Brisbane Times, the 58-year-old said filming the volcano was a “spur of the moment thing” after he saw it erupting from a nearby beach where he was staying with friends.

“I thought I might as well try and capture something you rarely get to see,” he said, adding the group “actually crapped themselves” when the sonic boom hit.