ROTORUA AND WHITE ISLAND

DAY 1:

We started the day riding the luge. You are sitting on a sledge with wheels and you have 3 downhill options to choose from. Supposedly good fun if Phil wouldn't have nearly smashed his new HD camcorder. Yes, it was a little damaged and so was Philips knee but all in all everything was still in working order.

We carried on having a stroll around town, walking along Rotorua Lake, visiting the Marae, having a cup of coffee in the Redwood Forest and enjoying Tutea Falls.

We wanted to finish the day with a nice relaxed kayak trip along the stream next to our holiday camp. Phil was first and we all watched him when he lost his balance and fell into the water.

Cold but normally not a big deal if he wouldn't have forgotten to take his iPhone out of his pocket. He didn't even have a second set of dry clothes to wear. He spend the whole evening trying to fix the iPhone but no luck...

DAY 2:

We had to get up early, drive all the the way to Whakatane and catch our boat we booked to White Island. White Island currently sits on an alert level rating of 1, meaning she is always active and constantly steaming. We all decided it was well worth the money even that we did not spot any sea life on the way to the island which we were hoping for.

WHANGAREI

Finally my friend Jana made up her mind and decided to come over to NZ for 1 year.

As soon as the miserable rainy winter had finished we took her new/old car for a good ride up North. The hiking introduction wasn't to harsh for her either, long walk but flat.

We were well happy with our cabin we got for the night, 1/3 was dedicated to the Internet cafe but for $35 both a night we can't complain.

We also made the effort to go into town for a drink. after one beer we had enough, Whangarei really is not the place for a fun night out.