"I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet..." - White Island Marine Volcano

Viewing White Island - Whakaari - from Whakatane

Approaching White Island is an ominous feeling. It is NZ's most active and its only marine volcano, formed by three separate volcanic cones of different ages. It lies 50 km offshore from Whakatane and plumes of white steam continuously rise from its ancient shape. Its Maori name - Whakaari - means, "that which can be made visible", referring to its ability to disappear in the ocean mist and haze, and then reappear on clear days.

Halfway to White Island

Approaching White Island

Pee-Jay V Waits for Our Safe Return

Mooring in the small bay and stepping onto White Island is a journey into living geological history. The sound of hissing vents, the bite of acrid volcanic steam hitting one's sinuses, the sight of bright yellow and white sulphur deposits, and the feel of newly formed land beneath one's feet moves one from fantasy to reality.

Ready to Start the Tour

Walking New Surface Created in 2000

Making Our Way Across the Crater Floor

Steppin' Gently

Moonscape

Sulphur Needles

Hot water streams along the crater floor, depositing minerals along the way. The highly acidic water renders it unfit for drinking. We followed our guide along a carefully planned path to avoid falling through the crust into boiling mud-filled vents. The entire area was alive with sound and movement - hissing and bubbling, clouds and plumes of steam dancing and shape-changing. We donned our gas masks and peered through the mist into the bubbling and surging lake of the main crater. We stood beneath Donald Duck and Noisy Nellie, our voices erased by their roaring vents, before moving off the view the Dragon spewing steam in the distance. Its recent surge of activity had forced the guides to reroute their tours.

Three Canucks & Noisy Nelly

Mother Nature Speaks at Dragon's Foot

Boiling Mud Pool

Hot Water Stream & Mineral Deposits

The Main Crater Beckons!

Looking Towards the Main Crater

Danger Lurks Beneath!

A Truly Foreign Land

Hang on Tight, Bucky!

As we walked about the moonscape devoid of any vegetation, the guides recounted Whakaari's history. The Maori paddled their wakas to the island to collect sulphur for their homes and gardens, and to harvest muttonbirds that nested on its outer edges. The hunters cooked their catch in the steam vents before returning to their villages.

Europeans made several attempts to mine the sulphur. One such attempt was even connected to Canada...BC no less! Dr John Browne and Archibald Mercer, an Englishman with connections in Vancouver, purchased the island for Canadian $20,000 in 1913. The name of their company was The White Island Sulphur Co. of Vancouver.

Production problems and disaster plagued the company's operations from the beginning. The most devastating event occurred in September 1914 when a section of the southern rim of the crater wall slumped, causing a massive lahar that wiped out all the buildings on the island as well as the men who were living there. The only survivor was the miner's cat; his rescuers returned him to the mainland where he sired many kittens that locals eager sought as living lucky charms. No trace of the unfortunate miners was ever found. Today, the ruins of the sulphur factory buildings serves as a bleak reminder of those that toiled in this dangerous and unpredictable environment.

Sulphur Processing Buildings - Monuments to Lost Lives

Sulphur Kettle & Original Mining Face

BC Timbers Still Survive

The Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences constantly monitors the island's volcanic activity with a seismograph, survey pegs, magnetometers and a camera to provide information. Up-to-date images of the island can be viewed hourly at www.geonet.org.nz .

The owners of White Island Tours, Peter & Jenny Tait, are official guardians of the island. Access is restricted and the only way in which anyone is permitted to visit the volcano is with one of the 4 designated tourist operators. We took Peter and Jenny's six-hour trip, and highly recommend their tour. We cruised aboard their custom-made 73 ft 'Pee-Jay V'. Before heading home to Whakatane, Peter treated our group to a rare trip around the entire island thanks to unusually calm seas as well as fur seal and dolphin spotting.

Pohutakawa Trees Thrive Away from the Fumes

Whakaari Disappears with Sunset

Viewing White Island - Whakaari - from Whakatane took on a different meaning after experiencing its might first-hand. Awe replaced the ominous...definitely another 'WOW' moment in NZ and in our lifetime!

written by

Shane & Norma on July 3, 2009 from Whakatane, New Zealand

from the travel blog: "Not Just Another Rugby Tour" - New Zealand, Samoa and Australia

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