White Island

[sej67]

My ship will be cruising by White Island the day after we leave Auckland. From what I hear it is privately owned and we won't be getting off the ship. There apparently is one or more active volcanoes. What can I expect to see? Will there be much in the way of wildlife visible from the ship?

[celle]

My ship will be cruising by White Island the day after we leave Auckland. From what I hear it is privately owned and we won't be getting off the ship. There apparently is one or more active volcanoes. What can I expect to see? Will there be much in the way of wildlife visible from the ship?

 

Have a look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whakaari/White_Island

 

Also, other photos available if you search on Google.

 

We cruised by White Island last year. Our ship took about 2 hours sailing around it. First we went around one way, so that the port side was towards the island. Then the ship reversed direction, so that the starboard side was towards the island.

 

White Island is NZ's only active marine volcano. The whole island is the volcano. You will see steam coming out of several vents.

 

True, White Island is privately owned. You can't land there without a special permit and numbers are restricted at all times. It isn't big enough for a cruise ship to land passengers.

 

We saw plenty of birds and saw dolphins close by, but didn't see any wildlife actually on the island.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Here are a couple of photos of White Island when we cruised by on the Volendam in 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Aquarians]

My ship will be cruising by White Island the day after we leave Auckland. From what I hear it is privately owned and we won't be getting off the ship. There apparently is one or more active volcanoes. What can I expect to see? Will there be much in the way of wildlife visible from the ship?

Kia ora,

White Island, an active volcano, is off the coast from Whakatane. It has an interesting history and has been the subject of a number of books, Eg. Island Volcano by W T Parham, one of a band of people who used to visit the island to band the gannets who nest there. With a bit of luck you may not only see gannets but also dolphins in the Bay of Plenty waters, or more remotely a whale or two! Cruise ships sail close but don't land as the island has no permanent population and docking for even a launch can be problematical at times. Don't worry if you can't see much geo-thermal activity on the island as you will see plenty of evidence of geo-thermal activity when you visit Rotorua.

Aquarians