In the ‘land of the long White Cloud’ the magic of White Island, New Zealand’s most active marine volcanic, is hard to beat. The island is located in the North Island offshore from Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty. There are 2 ways of getting there. One is by an 80-min boat ride one-way from Whakatane, the other is by helicopter only a 35 min fly from Rotorua. Today, I chose the latter, a White Island helicopter tour.
White Island by Helicopter
With 3 others, I boarded the Squirrel helicopter owned and operated by Volcanic Air Safaris. Our pilot, Chris, swept us away, flying smoothly over farmland and the Pacific Ocean to the centre of White Island, which is about 1 kilometre in diameter. Truly, we felt as though we’d just landed on Mars!
Exploring White Island
What a contrast to the rest of New Zealand. No plants, just rocks, steam, sulphur and other mineral sediments. Chris handed out helmets and a breathing mask. We all looked at each other…would we see our families again. Chris assured us that we were absolutely safe, thousands of visitors had gone before us and returned safe and sound.
The helmets and masks are just a precaution and a good sign that safety is paramount to the Volcanic Air Safari team.
As expected, the pungent smell of rotten eggs was everywhere. The visual impact was huge as we viewed all those rocks and cliffs created by an undersea eruption approx. 150-200,000 years ago. The scientists reckon that about 16,000 years ago, a ‘double crater’ blew up again and that accounts for the island’s current shape.
White Island Crater Lake
We then entered the crater lake area filled up with highly toxic “mineral water”…basically acid and deadly serious stuff. We stayed a respectful distance from the edge. The smell almost unbearable here and suddenly we found our gas masks very useful.
Next came the fun part… throwing sulphur rocks at each other…just kidding. Chris led us the most active area with huge amount of yellow sulphur material and blow holes.
This sulphur was and is widely used for fertiliser, gun power and medicine. This is why business ventures came to White Island to mine the mineral. Those workers had up to 2 months on the island and all supplies, including drinking water, had to be brought in. White Island was probably not such a fun place in those days.
White Island Factory Site
Near the end of the trip, Chris showed us around the former (and last remaining) factory site, which was abandoned about 1934.
Expect the Unexpected!
On our flight back to Rotorua, we thought we saw a large group of fish. Chris took the helicopter down for a closer look. These “large fish” were actually 25 Orca Whales! Wow, what a sight. We kept some distance away, as there were a number of calves with their mothers. We also spotted 5 massive male Orcas. Sorry Folks, I can’t believe I’m telling you this, but in the excitement of the moment, I forgot to take photos. Sometimes you have to put your camera away and be in ‘real time’. Seen it, admired it and forever in my heart – this has been a very special trip.
Happy travelling!
