White Island, New Zealand
Lying at the convergence of the Australian and Pacific Plates, geologically, New Zealand is a very active place. High mountains, hot springs, and old volcanoes dot the landscape, but nowhere in New Zealand is as active as White Island. The last major eruption was in the year 2000, but every day the island changes with different bits of activity. This morning we were lucky enough to get ashore and explore this marvelous island.
Local guides came out by boat from the North Island and met us ashore, well equipped with hard hats, gas masks (to knock down the sulfur smell) and sweet candy! After our safety briefing, and a bit of laughter at ourselves with our new equipment, we set out to explore this exciting and a bit intimidating landscape. In spots, scalding water boiled out of the ground. In others, mud bubbled up in pots. And probably most spectacular, many vents shot out huge jets of steam, some hundreds of feet into the air. The ground was a rainbow of colors, with some of the most stunning spots a brilliant gold, marking some of the sulfur that previously had been mined from this island.
The guides gave a brilliant tour, not only describing all of the geological features but also the history of the tragic miners on the island. They led us to our highest point, an overlook of the crater lake. At first, we were unable to see anything due to a wall of steam, but after awhile, a bit of the curtain was pulled back to reveal a pea green lake with jagged rocky areas all around, and steam shooting out from abundant vents. It was exhilarating!
Continuing on, we slowly made our way back to the shore, past the remains of the old sulfur works, and back to lunch on board the Oceanic Discoverer. We pulled anchor and did a loop around the island to get the full view. Australasian Gannets were nesting on the slopes of the island and a few flying fish were kicked up. In the afternoon we sailed southeast, enjoying following seas and sunny skies. Many different seabirds were observed, including some feasting on some fat squid. A fiery sunset during dinner left us thinking of what tomorrow will bring.
