I thought for a while
on the way out in the boat
that if White Island decided
to unleash her fury
and erupt.
All the safety precautions
in the world
would be in vain
because
we'd all be blown to pieces
Poisoned with noxious gas,
suffocated with smoke
or burned
to bone with lava.
The chances of tragedy
happening on
White island
isn't very high
... or is it?
monitored
by scientists
daily
the last time
it erupted was two
years ago
that was
at night so
no-one was hurt
with a
live volcano
you never know
It's an eerie,
erratic
puffing billy
The prospect
of an explosion
filled me with
dread but it
also thrilled me
like a horror story
Just one week before
an eighty year old man
on a guided tour
slipped to his end at
Whale island
I've been to that
island and
I remembered thinking
how dangerous
it was
the open cliff face
where
he stumbled ...
this place should be
fenced off
someone could fall
over the edge so easily
I thought while
shivering in the wind
nothing
untoward
happened to us
on our
White island adventure
even though all day
I felt like I was
channelling ghosts
onto a
bobbing
rubber dinghy
required
balance and timing
without
squashing fingers and toes
clambering up the
iron rods to
the sand bagged
rocks required
the physical agility
of a mountain goat
going for a tramp
near the edge
of the boiling cauldron
required an average
level of fitness and had us all puffing
Imagining
I was on the moon
with its craters
and physical
complications
of restricted breathing
kept me alert
enhaling
yellow torrents of steam laced sulphur
had us all coughing
respite proffered
by guides bearing
baskets of
boiled lollies
had us all sucking
sipping acidic
and iron flavoured
hot running water from two streams
reminded us that
there was no natural
way to quench your thirst
in the tough terrain
watching smoke
venting from
fissures
like steam trains
chugging through
funnels of white yellow tunnels
rock
the wasted remains
of the sulphur mines
with decaying buildings
and cogs that
were crusty with rust
saturated skeletons
of Autumnal
orange grey and brown
what type of man
would be
attracted to a job
like in an offshore
desolated
sulphur mine?
if you lived there
too long sulphur
ate through
the soles of your
shoes
and rotted
the enamel off your teeth
corroded your
fillings so they fell out
on the voyage home
the island's
gannet colony
teemed with
pointy beaks
peering over the
cliffs to the fish
filled sea below
some of the
gannets followed
us home
dive bombing
like torpedos
for their prey
just as we were
approaching
the Whakatane bar
we were asked to search
for a missing swimmer
at Ohope beach
visions of
hauling in a dead
bloated body
floated into my mind
but luckily he
turned up on the beach alive
Go there if you want
a live
volcano encounter
with possible wild life
its well worth the
You hopefully won't
be blown up and you'll
be treated like royalty
by the Volcanic Safari team
Drop me a line if you go
I'd love to hear your
impressions...
Haiku about my adventure to Whale island
following the boat
waves of frothy milk fan out
danger lurks ahead
looking out for fish
on the way to white island
all I see is foam
focusing on spray
that flings up beside the boat
looks like shattered glass
view of whale island
from the beach at Ohiwa
looks like a slipper
you have to be brave
to negotiate the waves
bouncing rubber boat
shape of a dogs head
silhouetted on the land
wonder if it bites
naked lava flows
undulating on the crust
bush blankets old wounds
Creative Quote of the day
“It is spectacular to watch an erupting volcano; but it is even much more spectacular to watch the rise of a newly exploding revolutionary idea!”
―
Facts About White island
Attempts were first made to mine sulfur on White Island around the beginning of the 20th century.
On 10 September 1914, 10 miners were killed when part of the crater wall collapsed, causing a landslide.
The only survivor was the mining company’s cat, Peter the Great. Sulfur was used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid and superphosphate fertiliser.
White Island, in the Bay of Plenty 50 km from Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki, is New Zealand’s most active volcano.
Known to Māori as Whakaari (‘to uplift or expose to view’), it is important to the local iwi, Ngāti Awa and Te Whakatōhea.
Sulfur mining on White Island recommenced in the late 1920s but proved uneconomic and ceased in the early 1930s.
A total of 11,000 tonnes had been obtained.
Today the island is a privately owned scenic reserve and tourism venture.
On 10 September 1914, 10 miners were killed when part of the crater wall collapsed, causing a landslide.
The only survivor was the mining company’s cat, Peter the Great. Sulfur was used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid and superphosphate fertiliser.
White Island, in the Bay of Plenty 50 km from Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki, is New Zealand’s most active volcano.
Known to Māori as Whakaari (‘to uplift or expose to view’), it is important to the local iwi, Ngāti Awa and Te Whakatōhea.
Sulfur mining on White Island recommenced in the late 1920s but proved uneconomic and ceased in the early 1930s.
A total of 11,000 tonnes had been obtained.
Today the island is a privately owned scenic reserve and tourism venture.
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