Month: May 2008

It was tempting to have another dip in the hot volcanic water this morning, but there was no time, we had a boat to catch! The Peejay IV cruised us out of Whakatane and to White Island, New Zealand’s most active volcano. As we got closer, we could see the cone like shape of a volcano with one side of the crater missing (it had collapsed some years ago) which meant we could step ashore right into the crater of the volcano. As soon as we did the eggy, sulphurous smells assaulted our noses.
Before we could get up close and personal to the sulphur, our guide informed us that there had been a 5.4 earthquake a mere 140 km offshore the previous night. Nevermind any possible aftershocks, what we really had to worry about was a possible eruption from this volcano that we were standing on. You may, like me, imagine torrents of lava streaming towards you which would be scary enough, but no, this particular volcano emits boulders the size of cars flying towards you at the speed of bullets! She then told us that IF we were to survive, we would then come up with an escape plan!
With just a little trepidation we then followed her past the bellowing yellow vents, a good point to use the supplied gas masks! The magma chamber was only 3.5km below our feet, which would explain all the bubbling pools. 3.5km was less than the length of the island and so a little too close for comfort! Along with the multi-coloured rocks there was also a crater lake, with a pH of -1.5 – the most acidic lake in the world, and also at a temperature of 50C, not something to take a dip in!
On our way off the island we had a quick look at the remains of the sulphur factory, being rapidly eroded by the sulphur! Feeling very relieved to have made it back to the boat, having avoided an eruption we enjoyed our lunch and began to wonder just how close to danger we had come. A book on the boat told us about a violent eruption in 2000 and how the boat trips were operating up to just two days before! We felt more at home with the sight of common dolphins swimming and frolicking alongside the boat on the way home.

Thanks to Cat’s little knock at 6am, we were up before the crack of dawn, and wandering across boggy fields, confusing cattle in search of the beach to watch the sunrise. As we are as far east as you can go, our aim was to be the first to see the sun come up. We weren’t disappointed either, with the rising sun’s orange rays radiating out from behind the cloud, just like the Japanese rising sun, or a childs drawing.
After a couple more hours extra kip we hit the road again for the final section of the East Cape road. Driving past Maori meeting houses (Marae) with their ornate wood carvings, cows giving us odd looks as they were herded past, and a little church with picket fence next to a beach. At the end of the day, what could be better than relaxing in a hot bath? Fortunately we’ve made it to volcano country, so the campsite had a nice hot spa to relax in!

The remote East Cape beckoned, and along with the nicest sunny weather for a few days, and some lush green hillocks, the drive was a pleasant one. The countryside is littered with hills with what appear to be steps carved into the side, too small to be terraces for growing plants, too uniform to be sheep paths, and too abundant to be created by man. Google and Wikipedia have not answered our questions, so if anyone out there knows what they are for, let us know!
Tolaga Bay gave us the rare treat of the longest concrete pier in the southern hemisphere, which is being eroded away from the inside as the sand used for the concrete was from a beach so the salt is eating away at the steel supports.
We made it to East Cape, the most Easterly point in New Zealand, and according to the GPS only 1.5 degrees from the western hemisphere, so this is pretty much as far as we can get from home, I reckon if you drilled straight down you’d hit France on the other side. The campsite was probably the most easterly campsite in the world. Also onsite was the most easterly chippy (in the world, according to me as it makes it more interesting), which we made full use of, as if we needed any excuse.

If there’s anything good that could come of an earthquake, it’s what happened in Napier. Hit by a 7.8 Richter scale earthquake in 1931, the centre of town was flattened. The town planners had a field day (and we’re not talking Milton Keynes or Livingston) and the town was rebuilt in an Art Deco style. Now I wasn’t too sure what Art Deco was, but think straight lines, modern, the New York city skyline and images like the rising sun. All quite nice, but if nothing else it brought home the awesome destructive power of an earthquake.
On a lighter note, our campsite had luxury of luxuries, a covered walkway to the toilet!

Important job for the day was applying for our Indian visas, which involved handing our passports over to a preoccupied receptionist along with cash and an envelope. All going well we’ll see them again in a couple of weeks, or we might be staying here a bit longer than intended!
Top Wellington attraction in our guide books was Te Papa, the relatively new museum on the waterfront. But this is no ordinary museum, you get the chance to be shaken in an earth quake, jump on stuff, touch lots of screens, wind things up, and feel how heavy rocks from the centre of the earth are. Essentially what all museums should be like, and we left there knowing a lot more about New Zealand, its geology, wildlife, Maori and immigrants.
After that lot we were museumed out, and our legs didn’t fancy seeing more sights, so we hit the road again. We spent the twilight hours in search of the poorly/not signposted DoC campsite, and in true DoC style it was just a field with a toilet. The heavens opened as we pulled up, so to be on the safe side we parked on the road, just so we don’t get washed away in the middle of the night.