NZ14:Day 12-Dec 1st~Whakatane & White Island to East Cape

Day 12 ~ Dec 1st: Whakatane to Whakaari & East Cape

During the night there was an earthquake!

Nothing was damaged in Whakatane as far as I could gather, & I was up at around 1/4 to 8. 
I had muesli for breakfast with the dates & cranberries I'd bought at the Pak'nSave & as I was going straight to Hertz to pick up the car after the trip to White Is., I packed up & checked out.
Keith kindly dropped me off at the place where I was to check in, & I found there was a cafe with a patio in the sunshine. It was about 9 o'clock.
During my coffee I rang Hertz. I told them I be coming straight from the boat trip, & would arrive after 4.30.
We all piled aboard the cat ~ Peejay, & cast off at 1020.

Heading out of the estuary, I got a pic of the Lady on the Rock.
Here's what I found on google:

Unveiled at the Whakatāne Heads in 1965 as a memorial to the wife of Sir William Sullivan. This bronze statue atop Turuturu Rock lies at the mouth of the Whakatāne River and commemorates the bravery of Wairaka and the daughter of Toroa, captain-navigator of the Mataatua waka. 

When the Mataatua waka first arrived at Whakatāne after making a perilous voyage from Ngāti Awa’s ancestral homeland of Hawaiki 600 years ago, the men left the women alone in the canoe while they went ashore. When the canoe started to drift back to sea, Wairaka (defying the tapu that forbade women to handle a canoe) seized the paddle and brought the waka back to shore crying, ‘Kia Whakatane au i ahau’ – I will act the part of a man.'  This cry is the origin of the town's name.

I also got a few pics of the rocks the captain had to negotiate.

Not sure, but I think the rocks are known as
Whakatane Heads?

The trip out was fairly calm, & we 

took a direct bearing for the volcano.

The Skipper steers towards the volcano

As usual, I spent time in the cabin chatting with the Captain (sorry, no name written in the hieroglyphics). He said there'd been times when the volcanic activity had increased while they were ashore, & they had to leave in a big hurry ! 

Gosh :-0 
I was hoping that wouldn't happen today.
The volcano is about 50k offshore in the Bay of Plenty, & the trip out there took about an hour and a half.
It was fairly wet on the small bits of deck, but quite few chose to sit out there rather than in the passenger lounge.

Approaching the dock

Once docked we were given hard hats to wear, & sorted into 3 groups.

I was very lax on this trip & didn't write down the name of our group's guide either.
I'm slipping!

Yellow team waiting for the Off

Bleak, or what?

Each group had to do the tour a few minutes apart from each other, & my group hung around a bit on the beach.

While we were waiting I took a couple of pics.

Setting off there were lots of fumaroles & bubbling pools.

And a smell!

Much like the one in Rotoroa ~ see previous blogs from NZ9 & NZ11.

Although the photos look fairly grey, there was quite a bit of colour about.
Mostly sulphur yellow, but bright green & pinks too.

We were frequently told to walk only on the paths, as holes may appear at any time.
Our guide said it had taken her quite a while to learn the safe places to walk, & they all had to spend months training before they were allowed to lead a group from the Peejay.

I checked it was safe to touch 1st!
I didn't want my fingertips burning off ;-p

Bizarre rock formation on Whakaari

The sun was out & the sky was blue, but we were frequently walking in a cloud of gassy steam (or steamy gas?). There were also lots of very weird formations. I'm not sure if they could rightly be called rock formations, but they were definitely weird.

This is what it looked like from above

The sky periodically cleared & we saw blue sky & the sun in the north. 
I still find it a bit odd that the sun at midday is north & not south!




I got slightly separated from my group while I waited for some green & blue for the next 3 pics.

Like I said, it was pretty colourful, & quite beautiful in an other-worldly kind of way.

You wouldn't've wanted to be stood there
when this hole appeared!

The bit of green isn't algae, but
some sort of mineral

As we got back to Peejay, my camera card said it was full. Typical! And the other one was on Peejay.

As the trip was only 2/3 through, I asked one of yellow team to take a couple of pictures of the beach where there was a load of driftwood which had been turned an amazing teak brown colour by the chemicals in the air. He was a Canadian with a big camera, & offered to send me some. I gave him my card so he could E me copies, but a year later, he still hasn't sent me any photos. Boo.

So, here're a couple from Google, so you can see how brown they were.

In the lounge with our lunches
~ provided by Peejay crew

Back aboard ~ after washing the acid off our boots etc., I switched SD cards, & sat in the lounge with a packed lunch in a box.
It included ginger cake. 
Yum :-)



While wandering about on the island, I had picked up some Whakaari souvenirs.
They survived the trip home :-)

White Island wood & 3 volcanic rocks

As well as 3 small rocks, I picked up a small bit of wood.
You can't tell very well from the photo, but (from left to right) the rocks are orange, deep pink & a greeny-purple, & the wood is darker than it looks.
Soon Whakaari was astern, & the trip back was choppier than the one out. Standing up to put my empty drink bottle in the bin. I nearly ended up with my face in someone's lap. We had a laugh about it, though. He was a Norwegian from Oslo.
Back past Whakatane Heads I could see the tide was now a lot further out & the marina boats were well down from their moorings.
We docked on schedule & I walked to Hertz to get the car.
Formalities over, I drove off at 1703, with The Club compilation in the CD player, & quite a few miles ahead of me.

Part of Ohiwa Harbour, an inlet east
of Ohope & west of Opotiki

Gmaps took me south out of town, east along Gorge Rd., then along the front at Ohope. According to NZ Tourism, Ohope Beach topped the NZ poll for the best loved beach.
At the end of Pohutukawa Ave. the road went right & followed an inlet. Google tells me it was Ohiwa Harbou. Whatever it's called, the drive round was stunning: lush greenery and clear water.
I think the tide must have been on the turn, as the water was pretty still. 
Eventually, the road round the harbour met the SH2 which had made a big loop to the south of Whakatane & gone the long way round.
The SH2 continued north-easterly through farmland before hitting the sea just east of Opotiki where the SH2 turns right & heads SE towards Gisborne.
I went left & took the SH35 which goes right round the Cape.
At some point I switched CDs to play Lionel's Renaissance, & the mellow music certainly suited the amazingly beautiful scenery.
The drive took longer than I had scheduled (ie Gmaps said it would take 2 hrs 34 min!). This was because I kept stopping to gawp & take photos. 
And before you say anything, none of the photos I took do it any justice. 
Maybe when I drive it in the other direction (March '16) I'll have more time & be able to take better ones, but you could always go & have a look for yourself? 
Trust me, it's totally worth it

The East Cape looking NE

The road was this quiet for miles

I had an awesome view of Whakaari for quite a long time while driving up the Cape's west coast, & stopped every now & again to grab a pic. That's why it took me >4 hours to drive 205k

The last pic of Whakaari before it got lost
in its own smoke & the evening haze.

I think this was looking across the Motu River?

At one point I came to a big estuary, & the road wound down the south side before crossing a metal bridge & going back up onto the cliffs on the other. It was at this point I saw the only lorry.

A bit further on, when the sun was lowering over the sea, I came to a village by a beach & saw this tree statue by the side of the road.
I don't know if it was an ex-tree, or if it was a piece of driftwood planted back into the ground.
Either way I liked it, & would love to have it in my garden.
 

Once the road turned right after Cape Runaway & headed towards the east, it climbed quite a bit. This meant I had sunlight for quite a bit longer, & stopped for the last time to take this pic of what looks like sun on a meadow in the morning, but it was actually gone 8 at night. 

Headed further east towards Hicks Bay & Te Araroa, I finally lost the daylight as I saw the sign for Te Araroa. I had Gmap directions, but didn't see anything in the dark that looked like a hostel on Waione Rd. However, I saw a young guy come out of a house & asked him. He said I'd passed it, & told me where it was. Doing a 3-pt turn, I found its driveway & drove on up to a dark house.
It would've looked like this in the daylight. Most cute :-)
I had booked by E, & had a telno., so I called it. It turned out the hostel was closed, but Joan ~ from the farm next door & who was looking after it for the owner, was very chilled & came to get me.
I was led down a connecting drive & met Joan's 'helpers' who were just brewing up. 
It was great to get a brew after driving >200k & for 4 hours.
Joan ran the farm with the help of 3 student-types. That is, they were about that age & seemed to be the sort who were 'taking a year out'.
Marjo was from Metz, Valentin was French, & Graham was from Brooklyn, & after I'd eaten, Joan arranged for him to go back to the hostel with me & keep me company overnight.
Joan ~ who had been born in Te Araroa, also offered me eggs for tea, but I had the sheep heart I'd cooked the night before, & so ate that as it had defrosted during the drive.
Meanwhile, after the introductions & while I was eating, I explained why I was there: I wanted to see the dawn from the East Cape lighthouse.
Joan explained it was about 20k away, along East Cape Rd., & on hearing my plans, the other 3 decided to join me. They had been at Te Araroa for a while, but hadn't yet done it. It meant getting up at about 4.30am. 
Eee eck! ! !
Plans made, I took Graham & his sleeping bag back to the hostel, & he found a room upstairs while I went in one on the ground floor. It was quite posh & had a French window out into the garden. As it was black as pitch out there, I didn't open it. No point in letting any more bugs bite me!

My posh room at the Te Araroa Hostel

I used the ginger beer in the bottle at the bottom of the bed to take my itch-pills, set the mob. to wake me up at 1/2 four, & hit the sack without more ado.
It had been quite a day! :-D
OAO