Volcano explorer and film-maker Geoff Mackley questions why tour group was on Whakaari/White Island

Tuesday, 10 December 2019

Geoff Mackley, from Ultimate Volcano Expeditions, explores the Marum Volcano lava lake on Vanuatu's Ambrym Island.

An experienced volcano explorer and film-maker says he would not have gone to Whakaari/White Island once the alert level for the area was raised.

At least five people have been killed after the Bay of Plenty volcano erupted on Monday. Another eight people remain missing and are presumed dead.

Various warnings were issued in recent weeks about increased activity and gas output at the volcano, with the alert level raised from level one to level two.

Geoff Mackley, who runs Ultimate Volcano Expeditions and visits some of the most explosive volcanoes in the world, said he would not have gone to White Island had he been scheduled to visit there on Monday.

**READ MORE:

Volcano explorer Geoff Mackley, pictured exploring Vanuatu's Marum Volcano, says he would not have visited Whakaari/White Island once the alert level was raised.

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* What scientists say about volcano

* Just how safe is volcano tourism?

Five people are confirmed to have died after Whakaari/White Island erupted on Monday.

* Why were people on White Island?**

'Put it this way: if that [increased activity] had happened to any volcano we were going to, I would have aborted the trip.'

Another eight people are missing and are presumed to have died.

Mackley only returned from his latest trip - to Nicaragua's Masaya Volcano - on Monday.

He has visited some of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, including Indonesia's Krakatoa volcano which erupted only last year.

Virtual flyover of Whakaari/White Island.

But he said safety was always paramount, and questioned the decision by White Island Tours to take visitors there while the alert level was raised.

'Every time you take a group to a place like that, the lives of every one of them are dependent on what you decide - good decisions or stupid ones.

'The best decision you can make is to listen to the experts who monitor those volcanoes.

'White Island is very heavily monitored. There were a series of notifications about activity rising - alert levels don't go up for no reason.'

Although White Island Tours had a business to run, there were warning signs that appeared to have been ignored, Mackley said.

'I'm certainly not slamming them, but every day they're taking large numbers of people, and I'd be taking a hell of a lot of precaution.

'We can cancel tours and that's a $100,000 cost. For them it's just a boat ride, so that's not too catastrophic a disaster for them.

'They could just say, 'We'll take you next week' or, 'We'll give you your money back'.'

LIKE VISUAL HEROIN

Mackley described the thrill of seeing an active volcano up close as like 'visual heroin - you keep going back even though it might cause you harm'.

'Once you've seen your first volcano, you're never going to stop doing it.'

Mackley's tours involve taking people to within 30 metres of boiling lava lakes, where the temperatures can exceed 1000 degrees Celsius.

The heat emitted from the lake could feel like standing next to a raging fire, 'multiplied by 100', Mackley said.

'I've never been on a space shuttle to the moon. But the rush of being that close to that much power, there's no other thing that you could ever do that's that big a rush - that's legal.

'I've taken SAS soldiers, astronauts - they've all said it's the most amazing thing they've experienced in their lives.'

Although he was aware he was taking risks, Mackley closely monitored volcanic activity and did not spend too long at sites.

'You do it in a short space of time and get the hell out of there.

'With powerful camera lenses and drones nowadays, you don't need to push it as far as you used to.'