Days 12-14: White Island and Tauranga

The day after Wellington was our last full day on the ship. We sailed past a volcanic island. White Island was named by our friend Cook for it's tendency to be covered in white ash. It also smokes from time to time. This is what it looked like when we went by:

The next day was Taraunga. It turned out to be a little busy in the area on the day we arrived. They were hosting a half iron man, so several streets were blocked to make way for bikers and runners, and most of the locals were out cheering them on. Zack and decided to take a hike around this hill:

The trip took most of our morning and was beautiful. It was nice to just walk and enjoy the scenery for the day. Here's some of what we saw:


When our hike was over, we retreated to the ship for lunch. We ventured out in the afternoon again to investigate the local shops. There were several artists set up on the street selling beautiful (and expensive) paintings, and everyone was still out and about from the morning, so there was plenty to see. Before we knew it, it was time to get back on the ship for our last dinner aboard, and our final leg of the journey to Auckland.