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Published: September 24th 2008
Yesterday was a really amazing day! We got up at 6.30am so that we could drive to Whakatane (prounounced pha-ka-ta-ne) for our White Island Volcano adventure! We had to be at the airport for 9.30am but made it to Whakatane in time to have a coffee at a lovely garden centre that was playing a really bad version of Flower of Scotland!! When we arrived at the airport we had a saftey demo and had to give the lady an emergency contact number in case of emergency... Scary! Our helicopter and pilot arrived at the airport at 10am and as you'll see from the photos it was tiny!! Enough room for the pilot and 4 passengers and we weren't able to sit next to each other - Karen got to sit up front with the pilot! Neither of us have been on a helicopter before so we were a bit apprehensive but it was fine - very noisy but incredibly smooth! It took us about 20 minutes to fly to White Island which is an active marine volcano sitting on the Pacific fault line. The pilot flew over the Island before we landed so we got some awesome aerial views.
When we landed we were given hard hats to wear and gas masks. The guide (aka pilot) showed us round for about an hour and told us all about the volcano - it last erupted in 2000 and it is current activity is rated at level 1 on a 0-5 scale. The noise coming from the steam vents was incredible and we really did need the gas masks for the clouds of sulphur dioxide. The colours of the crystallised minerals were something else - see photos! It really felt like we were walking on another planet. There is an acid lake in the centre of the crater which is at a PH of -0.5 and at a constant temperature of 80 degrees C, it was an eerie green colour. What was really amazing was that for about the last 3 years algae has started to grow in the water coming off the lake and we saw one fleshy plant which is thriving - not sure how!! We had been warned that the guide has a tendency to walk fast and at one point we couldn't see him which was a bit worrying! On the flight back to Whakatane the pilot/guide
pointed out the line of volcanos along the fault line - White Island is the only one that is currently active.
We found an excellent fish and chip shop in Whakatane to have lunch - we had schnapper, john dory and chips!! Yummy!
We decided to explore some of the lakes and countryside between Whakatane and Rotorua in the afternoon!! Rob was very excited at the idea of a mini road-trip! Our first stop was at some hot pools - we didn't have our cossys so had to make do with an ice-cream! Our next stops were at Lakes Rotoma, Rotoehu and Okataina. WOW! So picturesque - Rob got rather snap-happy!! The roads were fantastic and surrounded by very very tall pine trees. We were the only people at all of the places we stopped which made the experience even more awe-inspiring - just us and nature!! New Zealand really is a country of contrasts!!
We got stuck in rush hour traffic on the way back to Tauranga but saw a great sunset as we were sat in the traffic!! Rob went to a pub quiz with Jim in the evening (they won!!!!!!! by one point!!!) while
Karen stayed in with Lynne, Em & Lyd and watched Made of Honour (which was pants). The company, popcorn and lollies more than made up for it though :o)
We are heading of to the Coromandel peninsula today and we are really looking forward to seeing even more of this beautiful place.
TTFN.
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Diane Bayley
non-member comment
Volcano/helicopter
Looks fab The colours on the photos are fantastic. It is really interesting to see where you have been and am so glad you are having a wonderful time. We went in a helicopter over Ground zero and manhattan and i had to sit in the front and Michael and gang sat behind. Scary but great fun. Looking forward to next instalment!! Love to all!!! Diane