We arrived in Wakatane with plenty of time to spare for the White Island tour with the Pee Jay Company which was good since I needed to buy a new pair of sunglasses since I had lost mine in the bay of Islands. I didn’t have too much choice at the Pee Jay’s gift store but I picked out a pair anyway. There were not many people on our tour so the boat was very empty. The ride to the island was terribly rough and the sky was overcast so it did not seem like a good day. Even though I had taken pills I still felt woozy and my friends did as well. We sat in tortured silence for the 1.5 hour boat ride just hoping we could keep our breakfast down.

White Island

Once we arrived to the Island we were taken from the big boat over by a dingy a few people at a time. We were given yellow helmets and gas masks to wear when necessary.

My first impression of the island was that I had never seen anything like it and that it was out of this world. It was like walking through ash while jumping across neon yellow streams and having sulfur bubble at you from all directions. The only thing bad was that it was overcast which made it all seem so dreary. We walked in a single file line behind a guide. I had a short sleeved shirt on but also had my jacket with me and felt burning on my arms and raindrops on my skin. I asked Hendrik whether it was raining considering it was overcast but the guide behind me overheard my question and said it was acid rain. I quickly put on my jacket, even though I wasn’t cold to prevent the burning and was really glad that I had bought sunglasses because that was the only protection I had for my eyes.

Hendrik, me, Lissa, Simon, and Beata at the crater of the volcano

I think they should have also provided us with safety goggles because the rain did blow under and over my glasses making my eyes burn like crazy. It could not have been good for my eyes or skin. We were told we were there on an especially bad day and the tour even had to take a different route to avoid the rain. Before we went on the tour we were instructed to bring a rain coat, and then it made sense. It was for the acid rain. I just wished they had said that, considering I had brought my umbrella. It was completely useless since acid rain didn’t just fall from the sky but it was more like a mist that just clouded you.

Sulfur

No sooner then the rain began that it became very difficult to breathe and it hurt my throat to breathe and I would cough. We all put on our gasmasks at that point and didn’t take if off through the majority of the tour. At the very start of the tour when we had just gathered from the boat a man asked the guide if he would advise us when to put on our gas masks. He just chuckled and said “you’ll know.” Sure enough once we neared the crater we simultaneously started coughing. It was hard to breath through the gas mask and I could hear my breath so it was very Darth Vadarish. It was also very hot in the gas mask and coat, but still worth it. Once we had passed the acid rain zone it was great taking off my coat since I was a ball of sweat.

Walking in a "river bed"

I absolutely loved the Island and being in such a unique environment. I had never been so close to an active volcano and it was truly spectacular. About half way trough our tour the sky opened up and the clouds cleared and it was sunny making the whole place look even more remarkable. I loved seeing all the bright colors that are normally not found in nature and making my way through the mud which was like quick sand. If you stepped onto a wrong area and you sink it would burn your skin.

Old sulfur mine on White Island

Once we were back on the boat we had some really nice views of the Island. The journey back to mainland was much more relaxing since it is only rough one way and we could bask in the sun. Afterwards we drove to Taupo. Days later our clothes which we had worn on the Island still smelled of sulfur and our bags which had metal on it like my backpack’s zippers were corroded. Luckily, Hendrik’s new camera was not damaged.

White Island as seen from the boat when leaving

This morning was rough, since the remnants of the wine were not making me or anyone else feel well.We planned on going to Rangitoto so even though I was not looking forward to a hike, we went.We had to take a Ferry to the island and I was curious to see the wharf considering how lovely Sydney’s Ferry wharf was, but I was very disappointed.Plainly, it was a dirty harbour not worth a mention.It was just a place like a bus stop to get on a boat, and fast because there weren’t even any benches to sit on.Auckland was soon becoming an ugly city.

Rangitoto was an inactive volcano from which there were really nice views of Auckland.The climb up would actually not be so bad, but I was feeling miserable so it was close to torture.At the top the crater was less than spectacular and when going through our photos later I was like, “what is that?” because I couldn’t imagine why on earth we had taken a picture of something so dull, and that was the crater.But luckily the highlight was not the crater but the view which was lovely.Auckland can be ugly but New Zealand is all about the nature.The clear blue water and gracefully curved carved islands around the city are gorgeous, and from the distance even Auckland looked pretty.

Going down was much easier than going up and back at shore we had sushi for lunch and then had to prepare for the Belgian party.Everyone was from Belgium and Lissa planned a Belgian party for her friends who had just flown across the globe to get away from Belgium complete with beer and waffles.Hendrik and I were really excited since we have had pretty shit beer in Australia the past year.It was fun and in two days we had already had a wine night and a beer night, so a hard alcohol night was surly in order.