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Published: November 16th 2005
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White Island
Our view of the island as we approached in our helicopter. We've fallen into a comfortable rhythm of meeting up around 8am to grab a bite to eat, then hitting the road by 8:30 or 9:00. This morning in Whangamata, we went into town in search of some food and found a lovely corner bakery with mince pies, sweets and things to drink. The sun shone in a cloudless sky and we knew we were in for a gorgeous day. Rich had a hankering for eggs, so we decided to move on to a proper cafe but I noted the banana cake with chocolate frosting and decided to come back for "dessert" after our breakfast. The very-friendly proprietor of the bakery suggested we try a place called Whanga Bar around the corner, as many of the cafes hadn't yet opened for breakfast. What a great suggestion. We sat out on their patio under an umbrella and enjoyed eggs, french toast and the like. I (Mike) had a banana-berry smoothie which was very nice - not nearly as sugary as the ones we have in the States, you could taste the natural sweetness of the fruit and it hit the spot. We stopped back at the cafe and chatted with the very nice
Crater lake
Looking down at the crater lake as we come in for a landing. woman there while ordering banana cakes and buying juice and bottled water. Then we hit the road.
Our first destination today: Tauranga, where Rich, Gary and I would be taking a helicopter tour of White Island, a volcanic island off the coast of the Bay of Plenty. We got to Volcanic Air Safaris just on time and were met by the proprietors Frank and Kay. After a few safety instructions, we donned our life vests and boarded the helicopter with Frank while Kay and Ben stood at the hangar door to send us off. We gently lifted off the ground, cruised out into the airport proper and then rose to an eventual height of 3000 feet. Our path took us over the beautiful beachfront areas and then out over the Bay. It was about a 30 minute ride out to White Island, and we could see the Island the entire time. Frank also pointed out the tip of the peninsula separating the Bay of Plenty from Hawke's Bay. He said that it was rare to be able to see the peninsula but that yesterday's rain/wind had cleared out much of the typical haze.
From the helicopter we could
In the works
Rich, Mike and Gary stand inside the ruins of the old sulphur works. see schools of fish in the water below us, always the source of much attention from flocks of seabirds. As we approached the island, we took a quick circuit and were able to see many of its features, from the pohutukawa trees growing on the outward slopes, upwind of the volcanic sulfur breeze, to the pale green crater lake, to the bird colony perched on another outward slope and the yellowish discoloring of the sea where the sulfuric streams flow into it.
As we descended toward the island, we waved to a group making their way back to the boat which had brought them for their tour. Frank told us that on days with rough seas, some of the boat cruisers come to him and ask for a ride back; two more hours of seasickness on the ride back being an unappealing thought. 😊
We spent about 1.5 hours walking around the island; stepping over hot streams, checking out sulfur vents, fumaroles and mud pots, and visiting the shore of the crater lake. We had helmets on (in case a sudden eruption were to eject some rocks into the air) and masks (to help us breathe when the
Out to sea
A view of the Bay of Plenty from White Island. You can see the discolored area just offshore. acidic steam got to be too much for us). We also visited the abandoned sulfur works that was destroyed circa 1913 by an eruption. It was eerie to visit things like a tractor and hoppers that we'd seen intact in old photos, now half-buried in ash, torn open and corroded by decades of acid breeze. Finally we went to the shoreline and enjoyed amazing views of the deep blue water interrupted by the island's tall rock formations and a stripe of yellow-green discoloration from the acid streams. While looking out to sea, we spied a large pod of bottlenose dolphins jumping in formation on their way to deeper waters.
While we toured the island, Ben's plan was to take a walk on nearby Mount Maunganui, an extinct volcano at the end of Tauranga's seaside peninsula. Kay decided to play the most gracious hostess, showing Ben the home that she and Frank share near the mountain, directing Ben on the best path to take to the mountaintop, having a nice chat afterward, and accompanying him back to the airport to meet us.
Our flight back from the island was via a slightly different route, flying more direct to Tauranga over Motuotau Island and its avocado groves. As we approached for landing, the tower warned us of a couple of parachuters which sure enough, we could see descending in spirals high above us.
Back at the hangar, we chatted with Frank about the interesting things he's done, from growing up in Queenstown, to rounding up deer via helicopter, to running a deer farm. Ben and Kay turned up with the car, and we said our goodbyes and headed for Rotorua.
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brian
non-member comment
loverly
it all looks so loverly and it sounds like all the people are really friendly.