White Island

We stayed in the White Island Rendezvous in Whakatane, the base for the trip to White Island. 50km off shore White Island is an active volcano and our trip began on the 8.30 boat. I only just survived the 2 hour rough sea crossing. Then equipped with hard hat and gas mask, we were into an inflatable, across to the shore, up the ladder and onto the jetty - dry land at last, but a definite frying pan to fire feeling.
It was a very inhospitable place. Once inhabited by sulphur miners, one group of which were killed in the 30's when an eruption bulldozed them and all the buildings into the sea without a trace being found. Economics finally put paid to the mining. The last major eruption was in 2000 and changed the geography considerably. It erupts throwing out volcanic bombs, from small car to football size - I was so pleased I had a hard hat on! Quite regularly there are events which result in a pool disappearing or forming and land shifting. The crust is thin - our guide threw a large stone onto the ground and it echoed - one day it will go straight through. Steam issues forth from many fissures, some of the ground is too hot to walk on, sulphur is brought to the surface in many places giving beautiful yellow colours. Most of the island is the crater from a huge eruption many years back but there are areas where gannets nest and some regrowth of vegetation is occuring in a corner of the island. I shall be watching the web site for future activity, from a safe distance!