White Island Volcano Boat Tour Bay Of Plenty New Zealand
Photo & Vacation Spot

As the boat tour approaches White Island volcano in the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand, steam rises across the sky from the volcanic explosions which created Crater Lake.

From the town of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, a boat tour takes passengers to the active volcano of White Island. On the approach, the steam rising from Crater Lake can be seen from miles away which has been known to reach a distance of three kilometers high.

The beach sits along the shore of White Island where passengers go ashore and explore the landscape which the volcano has created after numerous eruptions. The Maori people were the first visitors on White Island until 1826 when Europeans landed here and by 1885 they were exploiting sulfur.

This came to an end after the volcano was very active and in 1936, a family privately owned White Island and by 1953, the island was a private scenic reserve. In 1997, the family became the guardians of White Island and the only way for people to explore this active volcano is by boarding one of the boat or helicopter tours.

View of White Island, an active volcano, from Shark Bay, Bay of Plenty, East Coast, North Island, New Zealand.