It was a very early morning when I woke up at 5am. The hike started at 6:00.
The reason for the early start was to hike before it got too hot. Even so, the climb to the summit took a lot of work. I hiked with a Filipino guide and two Australians and we were all pretty sweaty by the time we got to the top.
I decided to take a #selfie about halfway up and I think I already looked pretty rough!
I’m still pretty white, but I am starting to get a bit of a tan 🙂
There was a pretty good view even at the halfway point. You can get a good view of White Island.
White Island is not actually an island at all, but a sand bar. Depending on the tides it changes shape and more or less of it appears. You can take a short ferry ride across to visit it. There are no trees and no shade though, so it’s pretty easy to get sunburned.
The hike up was mostly canopy covered so there was lots of shade. It’s easy to see why you need a guide when you see the “trail”.
There is in fact a small path through there, but it’s hard to find. The view from the top was great, and we got there just before the clouds rolled in.
Looking down, you can see the crater from the last eruption in 1950. I’m told in the wet season it fills with water and you can swim.
It took 7 hours in total, 4 up and 3 down. Overall it was a good but tiring hike.