Capeview Cottage North Island

10 x WOW!!! Have just had the most fantastic day at White Island, New Zealands volcannic island off Bay of Plenty. White Island is very special, as it is located 50km off shore and it is active! Last time it errupted was in 2000 and it is in a slumber right now, getting ready for its next spurt of anger. We sailed out this morning at 8am, it took 1½ hour to get there, we were kitted out in safety helmets and gas masks and then we ...

... a cavern filled with glowworms. When everyone had completed that they fed us cookies and cocoa to keep us warm, then shuffled us off a small cliff as we each plunged into the river below. We used inner tubes to navigate the cold river, then swam with the freshwater eels for a bit. We finished by walking up a narrow channel, climbing through a few tight squeezes, and then climbing up two small waterfalls. That was my adrenaline hit for the month I'd say!

... had an apartment for a week re Calle and the house swap. Bloody beautiful!!! Right on the beach at Ship wrek bay. Views out to the Tasman Sea and over looking 90 mile beach. Jo and Danny stayed in Whatuwhiwhi ( fatufifi) for the week which was about 40 mins drive. John and I played golf at Carrington Resort on Sunday as it was open day...............One hard course...Still the victory but only by a point or two

... loopt voordat je weer terug vaart. Ik wist dat de boot tochten vroeg vertrokken maar blijkbaar vertrokken ze om 9:00 en was ik dus eigenlijk een tikkie te laat. Helaas was de tour toch afgelast vanwege het weer dus dat ging sowieso niet door. Ook even geprobeerd voor tours om te zwemmen met de dolfijnen maar deze gingen ook niet. Uiteindelijk ben ik dus voor een paar uur langs de rivier gelopen en weer terug, langs de K-mart en uiteindelijk de ...

... Whakatane was a really strange town. Low and spread out but very quiet and relaxing. Was freezing in the mornings though. Needed to boil the kettle to defrost the car!! Did a mountain climb (in the car) in the morning and got really good views over town and bay of plenty. Had hoped to go out to white island but no tours were operating until the following week.

... is a boat trip out to visit it. Norah didn't fancy the idea of a sea crossing, just to walk across a sulphur spewing moonscape, bubbling with hot mud, that could erupt at any moment - really, some people just have no idea of what a good time really is! So I'm on Whakatane quay at 9.15 and off we jolly well go. It's a bright, sunny morning, about 13 deg and we motor down the Whakatane river, passing the statue of 'Wairaka', a Maori girl who saved her tribes canoe ...

... Estos eran también sitios sagrados para los Maori e incluso usaban y aún usan estas termas para cocinar. Tras Rotorua nos fuimos a Whakatane, donde teníamos una excursión planeada. Esta vez fuímos a White Island, uno de los volcanes marítimos activos de este país. Equipados con cascos y máscaras de gas, nos dieron un tour por el cráter. Hay humo saliendo por todas partes pero las erupciones están totalmente bajo control, es decir, son predecibles. Pareces estar andando sobre ...

... and waves crashed over the stern and knocked people over. the crew could barely stand up and i felt ill. i was taken outside covered by towels and waterproofs and sat down feeling throughly miserable and was sick whislt the waves soaked us and the boat lurched and dropped and nearly rolled into the sea. nothing if entertainig. after eveyone on board had thrown up bar the crew we arrived! it was sunny and we got on solid land and i felt better. we were given hard hats (the ...

... om erover na te denken: er was niets aan te doen, volgens hem wisten we het allebei vanaf het eerste moment dat we elkaar niet lagen. Ik had geen bedenktijd nodig, met beide handen nam ik dit aanbod aan. Toen we weggingen, kreeg ik nog een biertje in de handen gedrukt: op ons niet-samenzijn. Ik wist een lichte glimlach te produceren. In de stad dropte hij me bij een hostel en dat was dan dat. In het hostel vermoedde de eigenaresse al iets en hinte in die richting... Langzaam ...

... station anywhere. In the end there was but by then I'd already gone past the most easterly lighthouse in the world so I had to miss it out. Not a massive loss but as I've already driven a long way to see the north and south points of the islands I was planning on seeing an easterly one too. Time to get an early night, more top tourism tomorrow! Various photos to follow, yes I'm back in **** internet land.