White Volcano Island - Day at Sea

Today was a day at sea enroute to Tauranga; along the way however, we had the olfactory priveledge of experiencing the unique smell of sulfur in the air. It reminded Juan of his former days as the Weapons Officer, onboard USS COWPENS, smelling cordite from the ship's two 5" guns firing on the naval gun range off of Guam. Ah, you gotta love the smell of sulfur on a day out at sea!!!

Alright, now back to reality. Enroute to Tauranga, Rhapsody of the Seas reached a small active volcano 49km off the Eastern Coast of New Zealand's Northern Island called... White Volcano Island. Of all the wonders we've thus seen in New Zealand, White Volcano is like no other. It is New Zealand's only active marine volcano. From a distance, as we made our approach, you could see it bellowing smoke and what appears to be ash into the air. As you got closer, however, the distinct smell of sulfur was very candid to the sense of smell. It was quite a sight to behold - who would have thought, who would have been in such awe and wonder! We came close White Volcano Island and cruised around for approximately 4 hours before heading out and making way for our next port of call the following morning.

White Volcano Island, New Zealand's only active marine volcano 49km off the eastern coast of New Zealand's Northern Island.

A myriad of tourists trying to capture the perfect picture.