Okay,
I’m freaking out. I SAW AN ACTIVE VOLCANO! And it was amazing!!!
I woke
up Monday morning bright and early – 7 AM. My White Island Tour departed at
9:15, and with a 45 minute walk, I wanted to be sure I got there on time.
Apparently I’m not very good with numbers, ‘cause I arrived like 45 minutes
early. I waited in the White
Island Café until 9 when I was able to board the boat that would take me out to
White Island, the active volcano. The boat was huge! Apparently it’s 73 feet
long. I wasn’t expecting there to be so many people on the boat, but there were
around 70 of us. It was a crowded hour and a half ride out to the island, but
it was definitely worth it.
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| We saw a rainbow on the way! |
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| There it is! Complete with ominous volcanic steam. |
After getting close to the island, we split into groups and got into a
little inflatable boat to get us on shore. Once we got on shore, got into
groups, got our helmets and gas masks, etc, we set off. We had tour guides who
told us some history, cool stories, and a lot of facts about the island. They
also handed out lollies (hard candies) for the walk, because it helps us breath
better. It sounds weird, but it worked! Since the volcano is so steamy and
gaseous, it’s hard to breathe. The lollies make you produce more saliva, which
helps you deal with the gasses better.
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| Got my gear and ready to go! |
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| A fumarole! |
On our walk, we saw sulphur
mounds, fumaroles, mud pools, the crater of the volcano, and tons of sulphur
crystals everywhere. When we got to the crater, we were standing just metres
from the edge! There was no magma, but there was a lot of rumbling. The whole
island was pretty noisy. The whole island also reeked of sulphur, and when the
steam blew over you it was bad! Anyways, we just walked around the island while
our tour guide explained everything to us. It was soo cool! At the end of our
tour, we saw an old sulphur mine that was on the island. There had been many
failed attempts at mining the abundant sulphur, but none of them worked out, so
the old mine was left to disintegrate.
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| The ruins. |
Once we were done exploring, we
all gathered at the shore and took the inflatable boat back to our big yacht.
We had an opportunity to swim while we were waiting for everyone to get back
and while lunch was being handed out. Of course I jumped in! The water seemed
warm after going caving, although it was only about 20 degrees C. It felt
amazing, and how cool is it that I swam at the base of an active volcano?!
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| Jumping off the big boat into the warm water! |
They called us back into the boat
after a while, we ate lunch, and then we started off for the mainland. We saw
flying fish on the way! It was so weird- I’d never seen them before. They
looked like they had wings, and they’d hop out of the water, soar for a while,
and dive back in. Very strange.
Anyhow, we made it back to shore
safely after being out on the water and the volcano for nearly 6 hours. The
time flew by! It took an hour and a half each way, and we were on the volcano
for about 2 hours. Definitely worth the money!
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| Goodbye White Island! |
Later, after arriving on land, I
walked across the street to a Maori meeting house called Mataatua. The Maori
are the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their culture is everywhere! It’s
mixed in with the pakeha (European) culture, which makes everything so
interesting, but also hard to understand. Their culture is so different from
anything I’ve ever encountered before, and the language is very distinct. So,
it was fun for me to get a glimpse into the culture. The meeting house was
originally built in Whakatane, where I’m staying. It was moved all over the
world for exhibitions and museum showings, but it has finally made its way
home. Along the way, it got damaged, so as it stands now, it has been fully
recovered and refurbished. So it’s not necessarily the original meeting house
from the 1800s, but it is partially original, and the refurbishments were made
to look as it did when it was built. While there, I saw an incredible light
show demonstrating some of the legends of the Maori culture. It was amazing,
and I am so intrigued! I definitely want to see more Maori culture and
traditions while I’m here.
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| Mataatua, Maori meeting house. |
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| Such intricate carvings. |
Monday night was another relaxing
evening in the hostel. I was tired after trudging all over an active volcano!
Not to mention the 2km walk into town! I hung out on my computer, listened to
the radio here, read an entire book, and playing with the owner’s dog, Kalu.
Good night!
Here are the links for the White
Island Volcano and the Mataatua meeting house in case you want more info.
There’s no way I could say it all here, and they are much more articulate than
I am!
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