How It All Began…

 

White Island Tours has its beginnings in 1990 when Peter & Jenny Tait, seeking a change of lifestyle, gave up their farming careers and embarked on a new venture as fishing and diving charter operators.

That same year, they began to build PeeJay I which was completed and launched in 1991.  This first vessel had the capacity to carry just six passengers but was soon replaced in 1992 by the larger PeeJay II, able to carry 12. 

  

              PEEJAY I                            PEEJAY II

Peter & Jenny continued to operate fishing and diving charters during this time.  However, while out fishing near White Island one day, Jenny obliged a request by a client to be taken ashore the volcano.  This visit not only sparked a curiosity in Jenny about the island, but lead to their operation expanding to include the option of a tour on to the volcano. 

The rest, as they say, is history.  Gradually, Peter & Jenny abandoned their fishing and diving operation to focus entirely on tours of White Island and PeeJay II was replaced in 1995 by PeeJay III which could carry up to 22 passengers.  Today, in order to cater for the growing number of people worldwide who are attracted to this unique destination, White Island Tours operates with two vessels – PeeJay IV with a capacity for 44 passengers and PeeJay V with capacity for 70.  We also have a 26-unit motel, a café and a gift shop.

    

                 PEEJAY III                                          PEEJAY IV                    

Peter & Jenny’s passion for the volcano, the sea and the natural environment has resulted in thousands of visitors being given the experience of a lifetime on one of the world’s most accessible live volcanoes.  But how has this been achieved without having a severe negative impact on this unique natural wonder?

White Island is privately owned.  It is also a scenic reserve and has been since the 1950s.  Access on to the volcano is now very restricted but it hasn’t always been this way.  When Jenny took her first visitor on to White Island, it was in the days when anyone could visit the island whenever they pleased.  As a result, the island was not in the pristine condition that it is today.  The evidence of human presence was obvious.

Conditions improved in 1995 when access to the island was partially controlled by the introduction of permits which the island’s owners asked Peter & Jenny to take responsibility for issuing each year.   Then, in 1997, Peter & Jenny were appointed official guardians of the island and have since been instrumental in bringing about further regulations restricting access.  Now, the only way in which anyone is permitted to visit the volcano is with one of four designated tourist operators.

In this way, Peter & Jenny’s goal can be achieved – to educate others about this fascinating natural laboratory while, at the same time, preserving it for future generations.

     

  White Island                                       PEEJAY V