White Island to Wellington and pictures

July 8, 2008
This morning it was exceptionally cold. We had eaten and brushed our teeth and got dressed; we drove to the White Island control center. We got what we needed to get on the boat and waited for take-off. When the boat took off I wanted to stay in the place without a roof (the deck). It wasn’t that cold outside on the deck. I saw White Island in the distance.
When we got there we got into an inflatable raft and got on the island. We climbed a ladder and clambered over boulders to the old, rusty anchor. Few walls were left standing, rust was crumbling down; this was a sulfur mine. We jumped and crawled over sulfur and stone until we came to a spot with steam rising and a cliff of pure sulfur. We talked about the sulfur miners and then were on the move again.
Next we saw the crater of the volcano. It looked like steamy, green pea soup. We heard a story about a miner who disappeared and the other miners found his boots at the edge of the crater. Then I passed a non-breakable rock and some mud pots. We got to taste some water from the stream. It was pretty good. Then I saw a rock that looked like someone’s head. Our tour was over.
We went into what was left of the sulfur factory. I saw some grinders and wheels and a door with a caved-in roof with sulfur crystals all over it. We got back on the ship. When we got back to the shore I saw some diving birds. We got off the boat and I bought some sulfur soap and White Island rock samples. Then we drove to the campground.
Oh, and I saw some seals too (New Zealand fur seals). They were hunted to almost extinction, but then they were protected and now their numbers are rising. They are moving north.

July 9, 2008
This morning we drove to Orakei Korako to see the cave. First we saw geysers and the mud pots. I saw baby mushrooms and toadstools, and animal feces. We finally got to see the cave, filled with water, clear in the front, sea green in the back. The front was a bit too clear. In fact, it was so clear, I didn’t know there was water until I was up to my knees in water.
The water was warm, so I enjoyed getting in. That was good. Getting out, not so good. Luckily, my pants dried quickly. My shoes were uncooperative, like my socks. They were STILL wet after my pants were dry.
Anyways, then we went to see more mud pots. Then we went back to the ferry to get to the parking lot. Then we ate lunch and went to a volcano place; we looked around, did some things including: taking the earth apart and experiencing a fake 6.3 earthquake. Then we went to a shop, I bought 3 post cards (2 kiwi bird cards and 1 with a sheep that had questions we had to fill in) and some m&ms.
Next we went to the Huka falls. It is a rushing river. Not even a shark could swim in it. The waterfall is awesome. What was weird is: the water was as fast as a leopard, but after the waterfall the water was as slow as a snail. After that we went to a good campground. The playground was ‘scruciatingly (as Rudyard Kipling would say) overrun with violent little boys. We got dinner made, ate, brushed our teeth and passed out.

July 10, 2008
We went to see the Art Deco architecture in Napier. Art Deco was a style in the 1920’s and 30’s. it uses geometric shapes and Egyptian and Mayan designs. When Napier was destroyed by earthquake and fire, it was rebuilt in Art Deco style. Art Deco uses cool colors like green, cream, and dandelion and is very bright.
We went to a shop and I bought a little periwinkle bag with a box, a pencil, a bookmark with a design from a building in Napier, and a picture card with a 1920’s woman with a dog designed by Erte. We walked down to the Marine Parade and Daddy and I threw rocks into the Pacific Ocean. After that we went to a store and bought stuffed and model kiwis.
Then we drove to Wellington, found a campground and I went to a playground with a jumping pillow. We then ate some of the chocolate we bought at a chocolate shop, found our camper being savaged by ducks and then we went to sleep.

July 11, 2008
Savage duck attack! Now, all ducks want to get food. If you EVER wake up one morning and see your house surrounded by ducks, try to not let the ducks see you eating. So, we booked a bus ride to the zoo to see the Red Pandas. We were early so we got to see otters, birds, lions, wallabies, kangaroos and a sun bear that was starving and stood up on his gate. We also saw a kiwi and a tuatara.
Then we saw the Red Pandas. Our zookeeper, Paul, let us into Rika’s pen. We fed and pet her. She was so cute and fuzzy and warm, but she scratched me because I wasn’t feeding her fast enough. The next panda wouldn’t wake up, so we went to the next pen with 3 red pandas – a mother, father and baby. It was red panda feeding frenzy! They climbed INTO the food bowl! We enjoyed ourselves immensely. After thanking the zookeeper, we left the zoo. We received wonderful certificates from the zoo for our encounter and Paul wants us to tell everyone to buy only sustainable wood products to help protect Red Pandas in the wild.
We went next to the Wellington Botanical Garden. You have to ride a cable car to get up to the top of the garden. After the garden, we took the bus to the All Blacks store (the All Blacks are the national rugby team and New Zealanders love them) and I bought a cap.