White Island

27/12/07 - The next day Jeremy and I left Kat's place very early in the morning, because we had to get to the White Island, which is about 2 hours away from or 50km off Whakatane. It is also known under the name Whakaari. The special thing about this small island is that it is actually New Zealand's most active volcano. Our trip to Whakaari included a guided walking tour around the island. We had to wear helmets and gas masks - awesome! You know how much I love hats ;-)

And yes... I took a little sip of this 'water'... strange taste... traces of iron...

Tauranga - Ohope/ Whakatane

After the mud pools Karrie-Ann took a flight back to Wellington and I headed towards Tauranga where I met Jeremy, LeRoy and TJ again.
Tauranga is known for its little mountain called Mt Manganui. Sorry, but I have to say that compared to other NZ mountains this one looks like a hill. I still wonder why they make such a fuss about it... Anyway... we took a walk around it...

And went for a swim on the beach in Papamoa...

After I got to know more members of Jeremy’s family we had a yummy dinner and went on to Ohope where we spent the night at Kat’s place...a friend of mine from Wellington. Thank’s a lot Kat! The view across the sea to White Island was splendid!