Island Time

 

 

 

Our retirement on Island Time as liveaboards.

 
 


Island Time crew goes to New Zealand
Part 11

New Zealand Day 9 - Whaakari Island

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John on Whaakari Island

The trip to Whaakari Island (White Island) is one of the hi-lights of our trip.  White Island is a large submarine volcano 150,000 to 200,000 years old and is New Zealand’s most active volcano.  It is located 49 km (about 30 miles) north of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty on the Pacific Ocean side of New Zealand’s North Island.   Whaakari is Maori for “that which can be made visible”   White Island is the name that James Cook gave to the island as he passed by.  Cook did not stop to investigate the island so he did not know it was a volcano.  He named it White Island as it looked white as he sailed by in 1769.  The island passed into European hands from the Maori for the price of two hogshead (42 gallon drum is a hogshead) of rum in the 1830’s.  There was a series of owners some of whom tried sulfur mining.  The current owners are the Buttle family who agreed to make the island a scenic reserve in 1953. 

The volcano is 1000 feet high above the water level but 2000 feet above the sea floor.  The volcano regularly releases plumes of ash and stream into the air.  The last eruption of ash occurred in 2000.

The volcano is a source of sulfur and has been mined over the years.  In 1914 the western rim of the crater’s wall collapsed which killed 10 men who were working the sulfur mines.  The local lore says that the only survivor was a cat who acted strangely after this event and the cat became known as crazy Pete.  Mining resumed in 1923 but was ceased in 1933.  The sulfur was not economical to extract.  The remains of the sulfur operation can still be seen.  The miners actually lived outside the crater on a level area but relied on supply ships to bring food and fuel.

We motored to White Island aboard the Pee Jay.  The White Island Tour group had us read a list of safety warning before going to the island.  One of their statements included a note that said if you get hurt good luck trying to collect.  New Zealand’s liability laws are very lenient.

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Leaving the harbor – the entrance is between the rocks

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Moutohora Island

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Dolphins along the way to White Island

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Our first view of White Island – center of photo in a very small
dock that we landed on

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Pee Jay with boat at the stern that brought the people to the dock

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Our first view inside the crater

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A lovely looking stream- notice the ground covered in granular black rock – that’s the ash covering the entire crater floor from the eruption in 2000

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Our guide

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Some of the mounds that white and yellow are just a thin crust with very hot
Mud underneath – so we only walked where the guide directed us

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Bubbling mud

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Sulfur deposits

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Steam was venting in many places from fumaroles but this was the biggest and loudest

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Looking from inside the crater out to sea with the North Island in the background

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The rock outcropping to the right was the area where the mining occurred

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Acid pond – the pH of the water in this pond is minus 0.2 – the pond increases in size frequently as more of the sides cave in

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The top of the crater wall – notice steam coming out vents at the top

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Looks like a moon scape

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