Crater Crossings

Once I finally fell asleep I slept pretty good in my cozy little Rotorua home last night. But there was a lot more noise than last time I was there, neighbors, logging trucks on the highway, and who knows what else. I had set my alarm for 7:45am, the White Island folks had indicated yesterday that they would call around 8am to let me know if the 10am tour was going to be a go or not. When the alarm went off I hit snooze, slept another 15 minutes, and then lazily woke up and checked my messages, waiting for the call and thinking through my packing up. I had checked google maps again yesterday, it should be a 45 minute drive to the boat dock so assuming the tour was going on as planned I could leave at 9:00am and the timing should be perfect. About 8:15am my phone rang, the moment of truth! The seas were going to cooperate, the boat could make the voyage to White Island! The lady warned me that the seas would be very rough today. No problem, I’ve never gotten motion sick I assured her. She confirmed I was coming from Rotorua and I confirmed that the drive should take about 45 minutes. She told me I really should give myself an hour so if possible I should be on the road in the next 10-15 minutes as I needed to be there by 9:30. Wait, what?! 9:30?! It was supposed to be 10:00! I didn’t have the heart to tell her I hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet but assured her I would get there as quick as possible. It was time for me to haul ass!

Try as I might, I didn’t get loaded into my car until 8:45. A half hour was pretty damn good considering that I had to shower (I needed to wake myself up!) and reorganize my packing. I was stressing but not too bad since the map yesterday had told me 45 minutes so I should be there right on time. WRONG! I started the car, pulled up Waze and thought, “this can’t be right.” So I pulled up GoogleMaps, crap, Waze was right. It was telling me that the drive would take me 1 1/2 hours!!! TWICE the time google maps had shown me last night on my iPad. My eta wasn’t until 10:15! At least it was a beautiful day out with bright blue skies; no rain to slow me down. Stress set in as I drove, it sucked having to be so focused on cutting time instead of enjoying the beautiful scenery around. Obviously I had already been feeling enough anxiety the last two days and now it was on full force. These people had gone out of their way to get me off the waitlist and onto the tour, and here I was, going to be late. I didn’t know if they would wait for me or not. I thought of how embarrassing it was going to be running up to the boat late. And then I realized that embarrassment is a big part of what I’ve been feeling about being dumped as well. I had been so excited about the guy, telling my friends that I hadn’t seen a single red flag (and we ALL know that I always see the red flags, I just choose to ignore them), I had introduced him to friends and some family, I had been so sure, and now, so humiliated by him. I was embarrassed. That was an interesting realization but I’m glad I had it.

About 9:40 my phone rang again – I didn’t realize I even had coverage – it was the White Island folks, checking to see where I was. I told them the distance was much longer than anticipated and my ETA was right at 10:00 am. I had already shaved a few minutes off the drive, I figured I could shave off a few more. I could hear the disappointment in the lady’s voice as she asked me to just keep them updated and get there as quickly as I can. This sucked, I HATE disappointing people. I can handle upsetting people in all sorts of other ways, but it makes me feel absolutely disgusting inside when I disappoint people. But all I could do was try and do the best I can. Man, isn’t that a hell of a metaphor for life. At 10:00 am I called back to let them know I was just five minutes away, almost there! Ms Disappointed again asked me to hurry the best I can and then let me know that they were waiting to launch as soon as I arrived. Ugh, a whole boat load of people, waiting on me, I felt awful. There’s that embarrassment again when I run on and they all see I’m the one that’s been holding them up. The little parking lot was full, I did a loop and was about to call them to let them know I was hunting for parking when a man in the lot waved me down. Yes? You look like you’re trying to catch my boat, just pull over the curb and park on the grass. Yes, this was the skipper, literally waiting for me in the parking lot, and telling me to just park on the lawn.

The Skipper was so nice. He wasn’t angry or frustrated or acting the least bit concerned about my tardiness. He asked me how my drive was, aren’t those lakes you pass on the way from Rotorua gorgeous? I apologized for being late. He didn’t want to hear it. I made it and made it safely so what else matters he told me. The whole crew was waiting for me in the little office, we would all walk down to the boat together they informed me; all the other passengers were already on and situated. All the crew were so nice. I chatted with whatever you call the Skipper’s right-hand-man as we walked over. He asked where I was from. When I told him I was from Caliornia, he offered his sympathy for the terrible fires. Why doesn’t California do more clearing so this doesn’t happen, he asked? It’s quite shocking to me how up-to-speed the world seems to be on our devastating fires. I’ve been asked about it multiple times every day I’ve been here, when people find out I’m from California.

So what is White Island you may be wondering? Well, it is an active volcano. It is New Zealand’s only active marine volcano, sitting a little less than half out of the water, and the most accessible active marine volcano in the world. White Island is the volcanic crater itself. It is actually a little controversial just how safe it is to visit the island. She has erupted without warning before and has erupted as recently as 2000, 2010, and 2016! This tour group is the only one that has permission from the government to even dock there and certainly the only one with permission to take people there. When you visit White Island you are literally walking INSIDE the crater of an active volcano. In contrast to when I did the Tongariro Crossing and even though I was between two active volcanoes and standing on the lip of the crater, the crater itself was inaccessible.

But back to my day… Nobody looked at me with frustration or disgust when I got on the boat so that helped me relax even more. It would be about a 75 minute ROUGH ride out to the island. The crew directed everyone to stay seated the entire time and to let them know if anyone started to feel sea sick. They had bags and strategies for that. Throughout the entire boat ride they would periodically come through and ask each person how they were feeling to make sure everyone was doing ok. The sea was indeed quite rough, the boat would ride the high swells and then rapidly and roughly thump back down, it was the same feeling as being on a roller coaster. Some people were yelping with each rough pass. But I loved it. I was feeling a little tired after my stressful morning and the rough seas were starting to lull me to sleep.

And then the boat slowed, one of the crew had spotted a dolphin so we should have a look. I looked out and there was a sea of birds in the distance, that was definitely a sign marine mammals were present. The sea was still rough but the boat was slowing, we could move about if we went, slowly and carefully. I made my way out to the deck and sure enough eventually I spotted a dolphin. As we approached the sea of birds I realized I wasn’t just seeing waves now, I was seeing more and more dolphins. The Skipper came on the loudspeaker, “Well folks, we’ve found ourselves a feeding frenzy. I’d estimate there are about 500 dolphins in this pod.” And sure enough, we were surrounded, dolphins were everywhere! Playful, curious, and friendly they flirted alongside the boat. I’ve never seen so many dolphins in my life. After a while it was time to get a move on. The seas had calmed a bit so the crew said people could stay out on deck as long as they held on at all times. It was bright and sunny and I decided to stay out and take in the sea air. I realized that riding the waves was a lot like riding a horse, you just have to rock your body with the motion to keep your balance. White Island was starting to appear in the distance. I was feeling amazing. For a moment, I had no care in the world as I leaned into the motion of the waves and felt the gentle spray of the sea. I realized that no matter how great I was feeling, I was still clenching my jaw and physically holding tension. I made myself unclench my molars and put the tip of my tongue between my front teeth to make sure I didn’t allow myself to tense back up.

And then it got better. Looking ahead I thought I saw a spout. I strained my eyes and the next thing I knew one of the crew was beside me, they’d seen it too. We’d spotted a whale! Apparently this is a rarity out here. Amy, the crew guide beside me, is on her fourth summer working with this group and this was her first whale sighting during a tour. The boat stopped and, again with warnings to hold on at all times as we were still rocking a bit, everyone was encouraged to come see it. What kind was it? The last whales they saw out here had been humpbacks. This was not a humpback, I could tell by his proportions and fins. He swam around the boat just below the surface and occasionally came up to say hi. He was finally identified as a Fin Whale, the second largest whale species on earth. That made sense, he was super long and very narrow. Simply stunning. Nothing like a little whale watching with an active volcano, that you’re about to walk into, venting steam in the background.

We’d wasted a lot of unplanned time stopped with our marine friends, it was time to get to the island. Everyone was asked to return back in the cabin, as the boat picked up speed again, to be fitted with our gear. Yes, gear. An inflatable life vest since we’d have to transfer from the boat to a little inflatable dingy to get to the island, a hard hat to be worn at all times on the island, and a gas mask. I must say, this is the first time I’ve ever been on a tour where I was supplied with a gas mask to be kept around my neck at all times.

And then we were there! Everyone on the boat was split into two groups. Apparently half the boat was comprised of some university’s geology class so they would, obviously, all go together and then the rest of us would be in group two. It would take the dingy four trips to get everyone off the boat to the island. The crew made sure all the folks who had gotten sea sick were first off, that was probably about half a dozen out of about 30 people, a solid 20%. I was giddy as I climbed onto the dingy and then up the ladder onto the island!

We were able to ditch our life jackets and first up a brief, very brief, safety briefing. Hard hats to stay on at all times. Gas masks don’t have to be used but might want to if the sulfur steam gusts towards us. Oh, and in the event of an eruption put the gas mask on. I felt like saying that in the event of an eruption I’m not sure how long the gas mask would be relevant! Though we’d stand a chance, Moutohora (the actual Maori name of the volcano) doesn’t erupt like crazy spewing lava like everyone pictures with any volcano eruption. Her eruptions include spitting out ash and lava bombs that range from golf ball to compact car size that come flying out as hot lava but the outer layer cools into rocks before shattering upon landing. Moutohora has a very high silica content, about 60-70%, which makes her lava bombs so fragile. This crater is pretty young, having only been created with a major eruption in 1976.

In one section of the craters we encountered the sulfur chimneys, as they call them, sulfur formations that are spewing sulfur steam out like a boiling tea kettle. The wind shifted just right and the sulfur steam encompassed the group. Holy crap, now I realized why we had the gas masks. Turn around and put your masks on! I spent the entire time up at front with the guides, Amy and Kelsey, I was fascinated by everything they taught us and kept peppering them with questions and conversations as we walked on. I didn’t realize that sulfur itself has no smell. The smell is really sulfur dioxide formed when the sulfur hits the air. Go figure! Speaking of yellow, Kelsey and I got on the topic of allergies, comparing the physical reactions to the sulfur smell, and I learned that the puffiness I had in the South Island was from those crazy bountiful yellow flowers everywhere!

The crater lake also bellowed sulfur steam at the group and made it really hard to admire for too long. The lake comes and goes in the deepest part of the crater as the weather patterns change. It’s only in about the last 11 months that it has filled with water again. Fun fact, the water in the crater lake is about 60x more acidic than car battery acid.

Amy and Kelsey took us by two little “streams” running down the crater. They suggested at each one that we touch it to feel the water temperature and then lick our fingers to taste it. Both streams were warm, a perfectly soothing temperature. I never thought I’d describe a taste this way but when I tasted the water from the first stream it tasted like a bloody nose! “Can anyone guess what mineral this stream is full of?” Easy. “Iron,” I shouted out. Bingo. The next stream tasted very different, it had more of a salty, slightly bitter, slightly vinegary acidic taste. This one could be a good salad dressing base.

Once upon a time they actually used to try to mine sulfur from the volcano. In the early 1900s those mining operations were all shut down after crew kept dying from eruptions and landslides. The old mining factory remains in the crater. The remaining equipment is beautiful and eerie. Walking through the old sulfur mining operations, what brittle pieces were left of it, felt like going back in time. It was kind of creepy, I felt like I could feel the souls that had died here. Despite the eruptions that have occurred somewhat regularly, some equipment and pieces have withstood. The effects of the eruptions, sulfur, and sea water were gorgeous. But all the metal was crazy brittle, Amy said it was so brittle most of it could probably be broken by hand. As I walked around a corner I encountered a kid, late teens maybe, stomping a piece of the metal relics trying to see if he could break it. I couldn’t help myself. I walked right up to him, “Dude, really? Don’t destroy it for everybody, have some respect.” I hoped he’d fall overboard on the boat ride back.

By the time I got off the island my nose tingled, my eyes stung, and my throat felt thick from the effects of the sulfur. Worth it. One young guy in our group had been sick on the boat and still felt sick the entire time on the island. I looked at him with sympathy and felt bad as I could tell he was dreading getting back on that boat. Once everyone was back on they handed out lunches. They weren’t quite as good as the lunch on the Milford Sound boat but pretty good and sadly still one of my better meals this trip, even though I never could figure out what kind of sandwich it was. Heading back the seas were much calmer and no ocean dwelling friends came to entertain us. Warm sun shone through the cabin window. I was tired. I didn’t actually fully fall asleep but for the majority of the ride back I had my eyes closed and rested in a state of half-consciousness.

It was almost 4pm when the boat safely delivered everyone back on land. I considered seeing what was in the area but I was still tired and over 90 minutes out from my ArirBnB for tonight so instead I decided to get situated into my AirBnB and then see what was around Taurunga, where I am staying tonight. I pulled up the address to my AirBnB and realized I didn’t have any check-in instructions, no idea how to get into this place! Ugh. Going on my future planning checklist, make sure I have all the instructions for my AirBnBs well ahead of time! The AirBnB app is great and all for messaging the host but worthless when you barely have any coverage. I drove away from the dock and into town until I finally had enough reception to send a message. Thankfully she responded back right away – she would meet me when I arrived as she also lives on the property. As I drove north on coastal highway 2 I could occasionally see White Island off in the distance.

One detail I didn’t bother to mention yesterday was how serendipitous Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t you Color” was coming up on my playlist as I drove to the volcanic valley. It was the perfect message for me. While yesterday that was what I needed, today having Alanis Morissette’s bitter angry lyrics were perfect.

My AirBnB tonight is in Wairoa, just outside the large town of Tauranga. It is a rural farm stay cottage in the middle of the rolling farmlands. And It’s lovely. The main house is further up the driveway so it is peaceful and secluded. The whole property is secluded, trust me, I had to drive up and down the road multiples times before spotting it. The little cottage was just built in 2017 and you can tell they put attention into every detail and take great pride in it. I started walking towards the main house when I arrived to find my host and get in and before I knew it two dogs were rushing down to say hello. Yes, the best part of my AirBnB is that it comes with dogs! The host was very pleasant but very chatty. I was tired and wanted to just drop my stuff and go find something to do, not sit here and chat with her. I swear, I can figure out how to turn on all the lights I need by myself. But she did let me know the boundaries of the seven acres in case I wanted to take a stroll with Ava, my dog to access during my stay basically, and she suggested that if I did want to head into town I should definitely do the Mount Maunganui hike in Tauranga. Two other people had also suggested that hike so I knew I had to do it, and I would just barely have enough light to do it this evening if I didn’t dawdle much longer. I used to take a video tour of all my AirBnBs to send to the ex-boyfriend and this place had such great details I automatically shot a video. Since I don’t have anyone to send it to anymore y’all can see it instead! On my drive out to Mount Maunganui I stopped and hopped out of my car to say hi to the gorgeous horses at the neighbor’s farm. One was right by the gate and the other came trotting over right away. I need to get some horseback riding in soon.

Getting to Mount Maunganui was a pain in the ass. Normally I would not be excited about climbing a mountain in the middle of a city this big but it had been so highly recommended to me. But I was not feeling it on the drive there, the town was bustling, a cruise ship was in port, this was the busiest city feel I’ve been in this entire trip. Getting there was bad enough and then parking, ugh. I really wanted to give up on it but reminded myself that rarely do I regret actually doing something that I do want to give up on. I finally found the base of the trail, tried to figure out the cryptic signage, and started hoofing it. I had to time this just right to be back down before dark and have time to get to the grocery store to get food for dinner before it closed at 9pm. I thought about eating in this town but it was too bustling and trendy, not the kind of place where I’d feel comfortable going anywhere in the lightweight hiking gear I’d just changed into.

The trail led through a sheep pasture as it wound around the mountain. I stopped and laughed at the view before me, of sheep and lambs grazing with sail boats in the background. Where else do you get to see that?! The trail was steep but had amazing viewing points. Of course I was glad I made myself find parking and get out there. At one vista it looked like the wide track just ended abruptly. That was weird, I thought I had seen the trail turn but when I looked back I didn’t see it. Then I noticed a cut in the brush, aha, the trail narrowed and continued up. Off I went. This part of the trail was narrow, steep, and rocky. It went from completely groomed and about 10 feet wide to 2 feet wide or less and all terrain. I had just been thinking about how little my bad depth perception affected me this trip when, holy crap, now the trail was really narrow and there was a steep drop off the side, ugh. I did not love it. I hugged the walled side and slowly crawled my way up. My knees were reminding me that in my haste this morning I forgot to take my turmeric supplements. And my right hip, it decided to strongly remind me that it was still pissed from whatever I did to hurt it during my Queenstown hike a few days ago. I need to get better at distributing my weight better I think, I may be putting too much pressure on my right side.

At the top of the mountain I was indeed rewarded with stunning views of the nature behind me, the sea in front of me, and the town beside me. I noticed the moon was already up and noted it as the last moonrise over New Zealand I would see for this trip. The sun was beginning to set and the sky turned pink over the ocean as the skies to the west turned orange, while the sun slowly retreated behind the clouds and the hills. I knew there was another path up the mountain, one that involved stairs, I would find that path to take down. The trail markings were still super unclear but I figured with enough trial and error I would figure it out. I had seen one wide path on the back side of the hill near where I came up and figured I’d try that first to see if the direction seemed right. And son of a bitch, that wide manicured path took me to that vista from earlier where I didn’t see it and started up that steep mountainside trail. Yah, didn’t have to do that. Just had to walk about three more feet and I would have seen this continue on. I’m pretty sure that trail will be my last hike of this trip. My hip is really mad at me and I don’t want to do anything too strenuous tomorrow.

On my way back from the hike I stopped at the local Countdown to pick up something for dinner. I decided to make myself a nice little meditaranean spread of hummus, cheese stuffed baby bell peppers, feta, olives, sun dried tomatoes, and crackers. With a fresh juice for greens. The produce aisle at the Countdown reminded me that I want to start eating more pumpkin. It’s so good Hangi style! Seems like the perfect veggie for some instant pot experimenting when I get home.

I brought my dinner back to my AirBnB, it was already after 9pm. First things first, I needed a shower. Today was a warmer day and my body and hair smelled like sulfur. My shower was great for the first five minutes until all the hot water went away. Like literally. It went from pleasant and warm to ice cold. Try as I might, no hot water returned. I shivered as I got my face washed and finished up. There better be hot water tomorrow. Then time to put together my dinner spread. Opening the lid to my stuffed peppers I sliced open my fingertip on its sharp edge. Ugh. So much blood. I ate dinner with one hand while I held my bleeding hand above my heart with pressure. Thank god it was a thumb or typing would really be a pain right now. Last time I sliced open a finger like this someone was there to help me superglue it back together, yup, literally with superglue. I could use some of that right now.

This is my last night in New Zealand for this trip! Tomorrow I have most the day and tomorrow night I will be sleeping on my redeye flight back to California. Like I mentioned, I don’t want to do anything too strenuous tomorrow, both for the sake of my body and that I won’t be able to shower before my flight. It’s about 2.5 hours from here to Auckland. I’m thinking I’ll have a slow morning here, playing fetch with Ava and taking a walk around the property, and then make my final drive to Auckland, stopping if anything catches my interest on the way and if nothing does and I have time I may go to the Auckland Museum. I am so exhausted tonight, both physically and mentally, I really need a good night’s sleep.

It’s late enough that it’s officially next day now; Happy Thanksgiving everyone!