LIFE ON MARS

To conclude our little trip around the North Island we went to White Island.I believe we saved the best till last. Whilst I was researching top places to see around the North Island I stumbled upon White Island. I'd never heard of it, but it sounded incredible. I didn't know such geothermal activity happened any further north of Rotorua. Shows how much I knew, because just off the coast of Whakatane is the geothermal goldmine; White Island. Since Liam and I hadn't really spent any money visiting any of the huge tourist traps in Rotorua, we decided to splurge on White Island, a trip of a lifetime. You can visit White Island by boat or helicopter. Since we weren't able to splurge that much on a helicopter trip, we opted for Peejays Tours. 

We left the Whakatane bay early morning, calm seas and blue sky ahead. It takes approximately one and a half hours each way. The ride there was full of excitement and anticipation, especially as soon as a big island with white steam rising from it came into view. Before disembarking the boat, we were all given a yellow hard hat and a gas mask. The hard hat was to be worn at all times, the gas mask wasn't compulsory and was only supplied for our own comfort. The island gives off sulphuric gas which can tickle the back of your throat, causing some discomfort, the gas mask and sucking on the complementary lollies helped to relieve this. We were then given some careful instructions such as: what to do in the unlikely case of an eruption. and to follow the guides path at all times due to risk of falling into a steam vent. We spent the next couple hours walking around the island, learning about it's history and the attempts to mine the sulphur. We tasted the natural water sources on the island, one tasting very bitter and metallic, and also tasted some sulphur from the ground, which tasted exactly like sherbert. It was a very surreal experience, everywhere I looked I felt like I was on the set of a science fiction film! I hope you can also get a sense of that from some of the pictures Liam took below.

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Gas mask on

The crater

Natural water source on White Island

Remains of the sulphur factory; our boat in the background

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The walking tour of the island concluded at the old sulphur mine, where we reluctantly said good bye and hopped back onboard the boat. We had our lunch and started the return journey to Whakatane. On the way back we stopped at another island where seal colonies reside. We were told there would be a good chance we'd get to see dolphins or whales on our return journey too, but unfortunately we didn't spot any. 

For anyone visiting New Zealand, or even an uncultured kiwi like me, I would highly recommend making this trip. It was incredible to get so close to the action of these live steam vents, and actually be walking on an active volcano. Forget the $50 tourist parks in Rotorua, this trip cost us about $200 each, but to see the real deal and for a truly unforgettable experience it was well worth the money.