Add Category
Posted
At the side of the main road heading into Whakatane, Donna Sergent is loading up on oranges being sold out of the back of a van.
She loves this side of life in the town, and worries about what could happen if tours to the White Island volcano don't resume.
"It does bring a lot of people to the town. It's not the only thing in the town, but everyone gravitates to it," she says.
"It's such a unique experience to go over to White Island."
But on Monday, White Island erupted while 47 tourists were visiting the volcano.
Six are confirmed dead and another eight remain missing somewhere on the island, which is still too unstable for forensics teams to begin their search.
The eruption has reignited a debate on the risks of so-called adventure tourism, particularly in New Zealand, which offers everything from cave diving to canyoning and heli-skiing.
Like many in Whakatane, Ms Sergent believes that ending tourism to White Island is going too far.
"In all honesty, I don't see why it shouldn't continue," she says.
"People know the dangers. It's been operating for so many years now."
Local motel owner Alison Fox says visiting White Island is no different than other potentially dangerous activities that exist all over New Zealand.
This is, after all, a country where you can ski down an active volcano.
"People do adventure skiing in the South Island and here. People want that," she says.
"Any place where you're going to have something like that, over 100 years there's going to be a tragedy."
'That island, it's like a human. You gotta blow sometime'
Tours to White Island are big business in Whakatane.
Last year the island saw more than 17,000 visitors.
The biggest operator, White Island Tours, charges $219 per adult.
The island is 49 kilometres off the coast of Whakatane, and getting there takes nearly an hour and a half by boat.
Helicopter rides are also available for just under $1,000.
Whakatane Mayor Judy Turner has made it clear she wants tours to the island to return — as long as they can be done safely.
"It's one of those situations where we're not advocating anything where the public is at risk," she says.
"It is [our] anchor business. Others in the tourism sector rely on it."
Ms Turner believes the town can survive if the volcano is shut off to the public forever.
"Yes, it would be missed, but we'd recover," she insists.
But local businessman Tristan Vine believes it will be a difficult part of the tourist economy to replace if it goes.
"We'll have to hustle, I think," he says.
Mr Vine helped found Lightning Hub in Whakatane, a co-working space which is home to a number of businesses promoting tourism in the region.
It won't be easy, but he believes the local Maori culture, scenery, and outdoor activities like trekking and mountain biking will be even more important if tours to White Island stop for good.
"The last 30 years, tourism's been driven by White Island. If it can't go on, it will be the catalyst for getting other opportunities to happen around here."
And not all locals believe ending tours to White Island would be a bad thing.
One of them is Rosalie Butler, a Maori woman who was selling those oranges by the side of the road.
"Strictly speaking, they're making money out of taking tourists over there," she said.
The full Maori name for the island is te puia whakaari, which means "the dramatic volcano".
According to one local legend, the island was formed when the cultural hero Maui touched fire, and was in so much pain he dived under the water.
In the place where he shook the flames off him, the volcano arose.
"That island, I would say it's like a human," Rosalie says.
"They get sick of it. And you gotta blow somewhere."
Topics: volcanic-eruption, disasters-and-accidents, tourism, travel-and-tourism, small-business, new-zealand