Blogs from White Island, Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

We arrived in Papamoa Beach on Wednesday evening, leaving behind the sulphourous Rotorua. We're staying at the parents of George's friend Mark in a fantastic beach side property designed and built by the owner. We overlook the beach which is 2 minutes walk away. Unfortunately it's also the bay where the large container ship ran aground (we can see it from where we are staying) so the locals are very worried about the possibility of an oil spill. Thursday morning saw us booking a boat trip to White Island from Whakatane, an hour up the coast from where we are staying. We just about made it in time (last on the boat) then set sail. It was an hour and a half to the island in fantastic weather. Once we got close it was like something ... read more

The first thing to note in this blog is that we have been reviewing the ‘statistics’ on the travel blog website. I am starting to feel like an old rocker who had their heyday and is now just gigging to pay the bills. Can you believe that some of our early blogs were read by nearly 200 people? We are lucky if we hit 40 at the minute. I realise that this is probably not encouraging our loyal fans to stick with us, but even so I feel it is an issue that needs raising. Ok now that is out of the way I feel that I can keep going with some serious travel info. By the way I was reading a book the other day which stated that ok is the most recognised English word ... read more

Whakatane was meant to be a brief visit, but we were around long enough to become experts at the correct local pronounciation......Fffffffakatane. The big draw of Whakatane is White Island, an active marine volcano 60kms off the coast and arguably New Zealand's best kept secret. However despite the blue skies, the wind was coming from the wrong direction preventing any landings and at one point it looked like it would remain a well kept secret from us. After 3 days the southerly winds calmed sufficiently to allow us the opportunity to get out to the island. The experience involves being issued with a safety pack, comprising of a yellow saftey hard hat and a gas mask. The need for the gas mask is readily evident with the sulphur in the air, although quite what use the ... read more