White Island
This morning we got the call at 7:30am confirming that the boat to White Island was going today. We checked in at 9am and headed off on the 90 minute journey across the Bay of Plenty. The sun was shining and the sea relatively calm. Half way over we came across a pod of common dolphins and they followed us around putting on a display at the bow. We soon had to head off though as we had a tight schedule to keep to due to the difficulty possible if we got back to Whakatane harbour at low tide.
Soon enough we were closing in on White Island and after seeing my first ever flying fish gliding along beside the boat we set anchor and were ferried onto the island on an inflatable dinghy.
The island is only a few kilometers wide and pretty much circlular. The whole island is made of volcanic debri with a crater lake in the centre. The lake is only a relatively recent occurance and is actually formed by steam emerging below the lake condensing within it. So it fills up despite the lack of rain.
The lake is between 30 and 60C and has a PH of less than one. It is just a steaming opaque pond and looks more like liquid nitrogen than hot water.
The whole island smells of sulphur and every so often we had to call upon our gas masks to help us breath when the steam began to choke a bit.
In the early 20th century the sulphur was mined but never with much financial success. Indeed in 1914 the entire workforce of 10 men was wiped out by a lahar (landslide) when the crater lake wal collapsed sending rocks and mud down across the island and sweeping the houses and factory out to sea. No remains of any of the men was ever found.
The sulphur extraction began again, with the houses sensibly built outside the crater but again went bankrupt after only a few years. The poor men who had the pleasure of working there must have had a hell of a life. No vegetation at all, 50 km from shore and no fresh water but that delivered by the service boat when the weather allowed. One worker did infact throw himself into the crater at one point, all that was found of him was his boots at the craters edge.
All in another great experience. We're having a maori evening tonight including a traditional hangi meal. Should be interesting.
Soon enough we were closing in on White Island and after seeing my first ever flying fish gliding along beside the boat we set anchor and were ferried onto the island on an inflatable dinghy.
The island is only a few kilometers wide and pretty much circlular. The whole island is made of volcanic debri with a crater lake in the centre. The lake is only a relatively recent occurance and is actually formed by steam emerging below the lake condensing within it. So it fills up despite the lack of rain.
The lake is between 30 and 60C and has a PH of less than one. It is just a steaming opaque pond and looks more like liquid nitrogen than hot water.
The whole island smells of sulphur and every so often we had to call upon our gas masks to help us breath when the steam began to choke a bit.
In the early 20th century the sulphur was mined but never with much financial success. Indeed in 1914 the entire workforce of 10 men was wiped out by a lahar (landslide) when the crater lake wal collapsed sending rocks and mud down across the island and sweeping the houses and factory out to sea. No remains of any of the men was ever found.
The sulphur extraction began again, with the houses sensibly built outside the crater but again went bankrupt after only a few years. The poor men who had the pleasure of working there must have had a hell of a life. No vegetation at all, 50 km from shore and no fresh water but that delivered by the service boat when the weather allowed. One worker did infact throw himself into the crater at one point, all that was found of him was his boots at the craters edge.
All in another great experience. We're having a maori evening tonight including a traditional hangi meal. Should be interesting.
posted by PeterZ at 8:10 PM
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