"We're going ahead with the tour." I woke to a phone call from White Island Tours. The wind had dropped and the sun was out. The day looked perfect for exploring the active volcanic island off the coast of Whakatane.
I raced around finding warm clothes, lacing my shoes, shoving breakfast down, in the car, off I set from Tauranga.
I had always wondered what White Island actually looked like. Having grown up in Tauranga, I often heard about its activity, waiting for the day it might just blow up and send ash our way.
I never knew I was even able to explore it until I started researching online.
There are two ways to reach the island: by boat or by air. I decided to embrace the adventure of it all and go by boat. Of course, I didn't factor in the whole 'I get sea sick' thing.
We boarded the boat and I chose a seat on the lower deck. I should have stayed there. Instead I decided to go upstairs, inside. Let's just say, if you suffer sea sickness, listen to the very patient and kind staff who advise you sit outside, on the lower deck. Do not try to be stubborn and tough it out.
The lower deck was indeed where I ended up, and where a very kind passenger took pity on me and handed me a bottle of Sea Legs tablets.
The 90-minute boat ride ended, having been focusing on the horizon I hadn't noticed the large steaming island we were approaching.
There is something truly spectacular about turning around and seeing a volcanic island billowing out steam behind you.
I was one of the first on the dinghy to take us to shore, where I nearly hugged the ground.
The 40 or so on board were taken over in groups of 10 to the island with two guides. We set off around the island. At first thought, it looked as though we had embarked on a journey to another planet. The sides of the island rise dramatically toward the sky, leaving a flat basin of sulphur-covered land mixed with mud pools and vents of steam. I was in awe.
White Island is New Zealand's only active marine volcano and is estimated to be between 100,000 and 200,000 years old! There is virtually no vegetation which survives on the island, especially in the crater.
What took me by surprise, other than the fact miners were actually able to live on a volcanic island full of sulphur, is that it is privately owned by the Buttle Family Trust, acquired by George Raymond Buttle in 1936 because he "rather liked the idea of owning a volcano".
I'm with him on that one - if you're going to own an island, might as well make it a volcano! The island was used on and off for mining through the 1800s, but it has not been mined since the early 1900s and is now declared a private scenic reserve.
We ventured closer to the crater lake, past mounds of sulphur, which apparently you can eat but I wasn't putting my hand up to ingest anything on an active volcano.
I thought a helicopter was flying around it, but apparently the jet-like roar you can hear over the island is actually steam rushing out through a vent in the crater lake.
We made our way around the rest of the crater, and through the old factory from the mining days. I don't have words to describe just how incredible it all is; I can't believe we have something that magnificent right on our door step!
I am pleased to say the boat trip back was much more pleasant, the Sea Legs tablet had kicked in and I sat outside on the lower deck the whole way, watching White Island disappear slowly into the distance...without feeling like I wanted to curl into a ball and die slowly.
There is something truly powerful about White Island. it takes your breath away and leaves you with an unforgettable feeling of just how incredible the world can be. I would highly recommend this trip! But if you do suffer from sea sickness, sit outside, and take a Sea Legs before you go!
To find out more about White Island Tours, visit www.whiteisland.co.nz.