Whakatane and White Island!

Trip Start Feb 17, 2005

123

Trip End Feb 27, 2006

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Map Options

Show trip route

Hide lines

Flag of New Zealand Whakatane, New Zealand
Friday, April 8, 2005

I arrived in Whakatane on Tuesday afternoon, and as is often the case in the Bay of Plenty, the weather was gorgeous. So too was the lovely Nadene who picked me up from town and took me to Karibu Backpackers (www.karibubackpackers.co.nz). She owned the hostel with her husband (nevermind!) and I was very impressed with the clean and cosy feel of the place. The fact that I had a 4-bed dorm to myself was an added bonus - 2 nights of luxury on the trot!

I immediately set off on the River Walk that took me into town and towards the information centre. It was a very peaceful 45 minute stroll and as usual most of the people I passed said "hello" (although I've noticed that some joggers don't like to be disturbed and/or waste unnecessary energy!).

Straight away, I knew that Whakatane was my kind of place

. It is a small and picturesque little town set along the Whakatane River and with a stunning backdrop of trees and steep cliff faces. Therefore I extended my stay by an extra night so that I could explore the surrounding area.

Before I could do that though, I had the small matter of visiting New Zealand's most active volcano to look forward to. Whakaari, or the White Island, lies 50km off the coast of Whakatane. As it is privately owned, you can only reach the Island by boat tour ($140) or helicopter ride (a lot more!). I chose the former of course! Included in the price is a 2 hour guided tour of the main crater floor, and as I had heard glowing reports about the trip from fellow backpackers, I was pretty excited about it.

It was an early start on Wednesday morning, as a guy from Peejay's (the tour operators) picked me up at 7.45am. After parting with my cash and signing my life away (something about getting hurt on the Island, volcanic eruptions, they are not liable, etc etc), I climbed aboard. They gave a brief talk on safety and told us that hard hats and gas masks (!) would be provided when we got close to the Island, which would be in about 90 minutes' time.

The journey itself started fine but it gradually became a lot choppier

. There were a couple of casualties who were unfortunate enough to become reacquainted with the contents of their breakfasts, but I was fine and enjoyed watching the White Island get closer and closer. The friendly staff provided us all with a nice warm cup of soup along the way which was much appreciated as it was freezing sat outside!

When we eventually arrived, we were issued with our safety equipment and then transported to the main crater in small groups via a little speedboat. Suddenly, I was face to face with this gigantic crater! It was similar to a scene from the Tongariro Crossing, but it was a much clearer day and so it looked far more spectacular.

Our guides introduced themselves to my group, and once again highlighted some safety issues, making sure that we all knew how to use our gas masks. Once the formalities were over, we began our tour of the crater. It was a really eerie feeling, as we passed numerous vents that were ejecting hot water and steam...I hoped that this didn't mean an eruption was imminent! Some of the materials' colours were very striking, including a whole area of illuminous yellow!

As we moved further into the crater, and closer to the lake, the smoke became a little thicker and some people needed to use their gas masks

. It wasn't too bad though and only lasted a few seconds. We were also given sucky sweets because the sulphur can cause you to have a tickly cough - again I didn't find this a problem.

The highlight of the tour was when I first set eyes on the crater lake...the water was such a clear blue and the steam rising from it made an awesome sight. We were warned to stay at least 3 metres away from the ledge as it wasn't very secure, and it's fair to assume that the water is quite hot! There is a story about a guy who committed suicide many years ago by jumping into the lake, although rumour has it that he was given more than a helping hand by two other men. It remains as one of White Island's unsolved mysteries...

Another interesting part of the tour was seeing the remains of the machinery that the miners used in the late 1800s - early 1900s. Men used to stay on the Island for the whole year, only returning at Christmas! Apparently sulphur production stopped in the early 1900s as several minors died because of mud flows and various other volcanic activity. Still, it was fascinating to get a glimpse of what they did more than a hundred years ago, although 12 months on the White Island is a bit too long in my book (especially if they didn't have access to a table tennis table!)

.

Soon after this, we headed back to the boat as our tour of the White Island had been completed. Thankfully the journey back home was a lot smoother, and we even saw some seals playing around at the other side of the Island! I spent a lot of time talking to a lady from Cheshire about her escapades in Australia which was useful as I will be calling in there myself at some stage.

All in all, I was very satisfied with the trip and I'm so glad I chose to do it. Sometimes it can be daunting spending a large amount of money in one go, but I would hate to get back to England and regret not doing something for the sake of 50 or 60 quid!

I spent the rest of the day relaxing at the hostel, and enjoyed a few beers whilst watching 6 month old episodes of Eastenders and Coronation Street! I hung around with a nice Scottish couple for a while, before talking about the merits of the Premiership with a Dutch guy. Then it was time for some sleep...I needed to be ready for the 17km walk I was doing the following day.

Once again, it was an early start as I wanted to do the walk before the main heat of the day

. I set off from the hostel at 7.30am and headed for the start of the walkway near the information centre. The whole 17km loop can be done in sections over the course of a few days, but I did the Tongariro Crossing continuously without too much difficulty so I definitiely wanted to do it all in one go.

The first section of the walk was the Kohi Point Track which stretched up and around Kohi Point Scenic Reserve at the far end of Whakatane. A lot of this section was in the bush but every so often you'd walk out into the open, often to be greeted by amazing views. It was quite challenging at times, especially as I probably still had the lager in my system from the previous night!

After 2 hours, I reached the beautifully isolated Otarawairere Bay and strolled along there with not another person in sight. Another short venture into the bush followed, before I made it down to the golden sands of Ohope Beach and walked along the beachfront for about 1.5km. Here I took a much-needed rest and stocked up on water and Mars bars from the local supermarket.

The rest of the walk was largely undercover, as I passed through the Ohope and Mokoroa Bush Scenic Reserves

. The views of the forests provided a great contrast to the views of the beach from earlier on, and that is one reason why this walk is so popular. Having said that, I didn't pass many people at all along the way, although the whole region is quietening down as the summer draws to a close (not that you'd notice judging by the blue skies!).

By the time I reached Whakatane, my legs were starting to ache but I decided to go back to the hostel via the scenic route and did the River Walk again. I really liked Whakatane and it has been added to my list of places that I'll re-visit on my way back to Auckland. The hostel was a great place too, and I spent the rest of the day doing...absolutely nothing!

This is the life (although stand by for a change in attitude when the fruit packing starts!).