From Interisland Ferry
Monday February 14, 2011 4:47pm Eastern Daylight savings time
If you want today's Wall Street Journal sent to you, just wire $1,000,000 to my bank account.
The drive to the volcano boat (Pee Jay) was about 75 minutes.
We took a 60’ ship over to White Island. When the island was discovered they thought it was white and didn’t realize it was a volcano. I didn’t get the whole history, but it was purchased from the Morai for 2 kegs of rum. The Morai probably thought they got a great deal until the party was over. The island is still privately owned: “I thought it would be neat to own a volcano” said Mr. Buttle, proud volcano owner. Now it is owned by the Buttle Family Trust. Ultimately the government wanted it but they worked out a deal that it is a Private Natural Reserve. Visitors need a permit. Evidently New Zealand has not heard of "Eminent Domain."
In earlier years they were “mining” sulphur there but long term employment was a problem since it kept erupting and a mudslide washed the men’s huts into the sea. Ten were losr but they found the cat “Peter” who went on to sire many kittens so they renamed him Peter the Great. They mined sulphur off and on but the companies kept going bankrupt and getting help was difficult. During the depression they advertised work on a Pacific island. Palm trees and pretty girls in grass skirts come to mind. When one applicant arrived he saw a different world so he climbed the mast and tied himself on until the ship left.
We landed in an inflatable dinghy in small groups. Hard hats and gas masks were distributed and are mandatory to wear on the island. Use the gas masks only if needed. Facial hair does not improve function of the gas mask. The remains of the factory are on teh right and the dinghy is headed for a broken down pier.
Those are steam vents behind us and we are standing on sulphur. It stinks. The steam comes out really fast and strong. Vents more around from time to time. We are in the crater at this point. Our safety briefing included what to do in case of an eruption. Basically "duck and cover." Same as a nuclear attack and just as effective. In event of a mudslide, run to one side or the other. Don't try to out run it, you will not. The ship offers refunds if we can not land due to rough seas. No refund in the event of volcanic action. No tourist has been seriously injured.
Don't step on a blister. There is no way to tell how thick it is. The blister is material bubbling to the surface. The ground is hot. (duh)
Crater Lake is hot sulfuric acid. No swimming is allowed. There is another spot where you can dip a penny into a little stream and it comes out clean. We declined. Who wants that stuff on your fingers? I guess you could bring your silverware. Free flowing Tarn-x.
Here is some bubbling mud. I wouldn't stick my finger in there either.
This is the sulphur they came to mine. They sold it as fertilizer. Some farmers complained that it killed their crops instead. One worker was digging it up and the volcano popped. He died that night. Another worker went for a walk and disappeared. All they found were his boots. Some say he committed suicide. His friends say he was a family man and would never have done that. Others say someone liked his boots more than him. Not hard to dispose of a body on White Island. Our guide told us we could taste the sulphur. Supposedly it has no taste. We declined that offer as well. Now if there was a lava cake . . .
Remains of the factory. The roof was originally made of corrugated asbestos. Not a bad idea on a volcano. We were instructed not to pick anything up and gas mask use was optional. Naturally, we wore our gas masks.
Did I mention that our Rotorua hotel was not air conditioned? There was a fan in the room. Maybe it was not supposed to be hot. It was hot. (We were far from the volcano.) There were black swans on the lake.
Flying from Rotorua to the capital of Wellington, our luggage went in the van while we went by air so there were no weight issues. We thought. At the check in counter, they weighed our carry-ons and surprise, we were overweight. Allowance was 7 kilos, around 15 pounds. They asked us to move things around (to where? We were each allowed one bag and one was slightly overweight the other more overweight.) I filled up my pockets with chargers and put my laptop into Laurie’s purse. That did it so they put an “approved” tag on my computer bag. We left the counter and returned the laptop and chargers to the computer bag. OK?
This is the first time I have ever flown, that there was zero security. No x-ray, no metal detector, no fondling, no hand carry peek inside, carry all the liquids you want (up to 7 kilos of . . .). Need a knife, nail file, screwdriver, etc.? Welcome aboard. No ID check, no passport, no driver license. Who are you, we don't care. Just weigh your baggage if you have any, and your carry ons. It was the same at the Wellington airport when we arrived. Wellington is the capital city. I sure feel free and safe in the US. I’ll let you know how it is when we return to Australia.
The weather changed on the one hour flight to Wellington. It was cold and rainy when we landed. I was dressed for hot and sunny. Fortunately our van arrived at the same time we did with our luggage so we could change. (Van left before plane) The hotel was really nice. Air conditioned too. I thought we were staying for three days. Hot diggity. At dinner our guide instructed us to have our bags outside of our door by 6:50 the next morning. What?? We are here for only one night. Figures. We found an Indian restaurant. It smelled so good inside. "Sorry, we're closed. Lunch time is over." Drat. Look, there's another one down the street. "Sorry, we're closed. Lunch time is over." To add insult to injury, some of our group was finishing their lunch in there. They said it was great. They were wearing shorts. We thought we'd stop back another day. We thought wrong. We did find an acceptable lunch place nearby, not Indian though. It was attached to a movie theater and the popcorn smelled great. We went out the theater side and found a whole mall with a food court. Naturally, there was an open Indian restaurant in there. We had tried to get indian food the day we arrived in Rotorua when we returned the car but they were not open for lunch yet. I think all Indians are diabetic and must eat on a strict schedule.
We visited the museum and saw a really odd movie. I would explain it but we didn't understand it. They had more exhibits. One section detailed how every immigrant to New Zealand brought along some noxious plant or animal and now the Islands are overrun with non-native species. There are no native mammals here.
We are on a ferry between the North Island and the South Island. They offer internet on the ferry so I bought a password and used it up receiving emails. Boo. I will have to buy another access card so I can send this. The ferry is a little like a cruise ship in minature with no cabins. We are in a comfortable lounge but there is very limited access to electricity for charging. If I get hot (it is hot in here) all I need to do is step outside for a picture and I come back refreshed. It is a three hour tour. A three hour tour. Fortunately the weather has not started getting rough. Laurie is drug free and awake.
We are supposed to visit a winery in Picton today. Three hotels down, fourteen to go. The best is behind us until we get to Australia.
I'll write again when we are on a long ride and I can get connected.
Regards,
Steve & Laurie
PS: If you reply (and we like to hear from you) don't send us back this whole message. Hit "reply" then delete the body and tell us your story.
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