Whakatane

Traveling from Hahei to Whakatane was quite a drive. We passed through Tauranga and visited Mount Manganui which safeguards the Tauranga Harbour. Climbing this mountain was a nice change from driving, and it was a challenge as well. Chloe decided to continue her trip from Tauranga so i dropped her of near one of the backpackers in the Tauranga center. The last leg of the trip was to Whakatane

Yesterday i arrived in Whakatane at 18.00 to visit the relatives over there. Aunt Paula an aunt of my Mothers and her daugther Ina and husband John.
It was really nice to see the relatives over here. Ina prepared a lovely meal in the evening.

Today we had a nice shopping trip into Whakatane, the weather was not really that nice (again lots of rain). I bought another piece of Icebreaker gear, kind of a merino wool fleece sweater replacement. To be honest i really like the Merino wool clothing, and Icebreaker is producing a nice range of those clothes. So by the time i return to Europe i will have a nice collection. I can really recommend them for any outdoor activities, the only drawback compared to artificial fibers is the time it takes to dry the woolen clothes. You cannot tumble dry them and they tend to take a bit more time to dry than cotton clothes. But the advantages outweigh the drying time. You can actually wear the woolen clothes a number of days and they still do not start to smell. Which is one of the big advantages when travelling since drying can be a little bit dificult in backpackers. I sometimes even use the car as wash dryer with the AC on that works quite nicely.

White Island is an active Volcano on a small island outside of Whakatane, and I booked a trip there on monday so if the weather is suitable i will be traveling towards the island.