ESCAPE ERUPTION WHITE ISLAND VOLCANO & ROTORUA
The most dangerous place I have ever been to.
White Island
White Island Volcano, North Island
Active andesite stratovolcano situated forty-eight km (30 mi) from the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, in the Bay of Plenty. The island covers an area of approximately 325 ha (800 acres), which is just the top of a much larger submerged volcano.
White Island is New Zealand's most active cone volcano. Continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years has increased the volcano in size.
The nearest mainland towns are Whakatane and Tauranga. Whakatane pronunciation is fuh-kuh-taa-nay Very similar to common curse words.
Rotorua, North Island
Ride a 900-metre long cableway Gondola with views of steaming geysers and bubbling mud pools on it's way to Skyline amusement park. Slight incline unlike the very steep chairlift in Queenstown. Rotorua is about one hundred km by road to Whakatane and the now discontinued White Island tour boat jetty departure point.
White Island Daily Tours
Daily conducted tour groups of White Island to view the island's steaming crater were allowed up until a deadly eruption occurred in 2019.
An eruption in December 2019 killed 22 people and 25 were left injured on the island. All tourists were on organised adventure tours. Before this some 10,000 tourists visited White Island (Whakaari) each year. Usually by tour boat. I was one such tourist. The most dangerous place I have ever been to. At the time I was fully aware of this. This was in late 2015. Before the tour I did my White Island research. Tour leaflets were scant on the dangers. I discovered steam driven eruptions do occur on occasion with little or no warnings. A few miners in 1914 had been killed by a sudden eruption. The science agency monitoring the island were reluctant to send personal to check equipment on a frequent basis because of risk. Yet tour operations were deemed ok to visit daily. Visitor's required to wear a hard hat, carry a gas mask have sturdy enclosed footwear and wear long trousers.
I knew these offered no protection for the body against volatile steam. Distal hissing steam vents and strong sulphur smells protection, maybe. Like many others, perhaps not as aware of steam eruptions as me, I thought one hour on the island is risky but a very brief visit somewhat safe. I decided to go. I made a mental note do it once and never go back. I have experienced a raging bushfire and gale force storms in a sailing boat and even an aviation forced landing. White Island was the most dangerous of all and I knew it.
Walking The Volcano
All were told not to deviate from the track and walk single file behind the tour leader. Near boiling shallow multi-coloured streams less than a stride wide could be walked over. Told to be careful on uneven ground and avoid ground depressions off the walking track where sulphur gas may settle. Transfer from tender to shore required thought as the water was rough and the crumbling makeshift jetty in disrepair. Heavily rusted old mining structures strewn about. Evidence of previous historical eruptions.
Eruption Day
An eruption on April 27, 2016, occurred at night without warning when no one was on the island.
Tourist visits in 2019 coincided with a large eruption. The eruption occurred on a Monday afternoon. Killing twenty tourists and two tour guides. Although infrequent, eruptions can occur on any day, any time. However, daily visits around the island by boat or aircraft and forbidding setting foot on the island would have been a much better safer option from day one.
That said, it's still a risk to go near the island.
After all, it's an active unpredictable and deadly volcano.
All White Island tourist actively is permanently suspended.
Traveldriven
ENTER CLICK/TAP
WHITE ISLAND READY TO BLOW
STEAMING WHITE ISLAND VOLCANO
SURVIVORS OF WHITE ISLAND
AFTER THE VOLCANO ERUPTION
ROTORUA
