Another big day during our last week in New Zealand. We woke up early to have a little breakfast, pack up and get ready for our trip to White Island (Whakaari). White Island is a very active volcanic island located a few miles off the coast of Whakatane. After checking in for our trip we headed across the street to the dock to hop on our boat for the ride over to the island. It was a beautiful day for our 1.5 hour ride over to the island. Just before arriving to the island we got our safety equipment...
I had to give it a try to make sure it fit properly. I didn't have my fit testing irritant smoke and wasn't sure if it was NIOSH approved, but I thought it would serve it's purpose.
We took an inflatable to a heavily deteriorated pier and cautiously made our way onto the island.
The landscape was unbelievable.
Andrea took millions (well not quite, but hundreds) of pictures while we toured the island.
While touring we learned about the chemical composition of the island,
the formations on the island (like the negative (extremely acidic) pH pools and the cones),
the steam vents and chimneys,
the mud pots,
and all the stuff...I can't remember all the other stuff. I think the acid mist spraying on my face/head burned a hole into my head and destroyed brain cells.
I am still amazed they allow people to go walk around the island getting sprayed with acid, having a hard time breathing from all the hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, etc. and possibly falling through the thin crust of solid ground at any minute.
There have been several sulfur mines on the island over the years and the last closed in 1933. The equipment and the miners didn't last very long due to the harsh conditions.
The picture above is pretty pure sulfur. It actually tastes pretty good, kinda like chicken...actually it doesn't have any flavor.
The landscape on the island was amazing.
We spent our time in the main crater, but there are two other craters on the island.
There were some ruins from the old mine buildings.
Even an old tractor...it didn't go very fast!
After the tour we headed back to the pier.
We got a couple of last minute photos on the island.
Then returned to the boat for a light lunch and a little boat tour around the island.
It was neat to see the island from the water.
Andrea got some cool pictures.
The return to Whakatane was nice and uneventful.
Back in town we headed to the i-site to use the free wireless internet before heading to find a hostel. We found a nice empty hostel and then headed downtown to watch the new Harry Potter movie. It was a pretty good movie and it was nice to relax after our exciting morning, plus it was half price Tuesday! After the movie we headed back to our hostel to cook some dinner and watch a little television before heading to bed.
Another day and another New Zealand must-do completed!
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