Our guide, Peter met us at the waterfront as we boarded the ferry to get to the island. It was about a 25 minute ride. We had a gorgeous day for the trip even though it was a mix of some sunny periods, some cloudy periods and a touch of rain. The good thing was it was not too hot as the island is all volcanic rock and apparently there can be very hot reflection off the rock. Peter gave us a fascinating walk, explaining much about the history of the island, the shrubs and trees and how awful a scourge the possum has been to the island. It is now possum free but now has a problem with feral cats.
We did a hike to the summit with a side trip to the lava caves. Peter stopped along the way to point out various ferns, shrubs, trees and flowers. The island is home to the largest Pohutakawa Forest in New Zealand or commonly known as the New Zealand Christmas tree because of the bright red flowers that bloom in December.
Even though the hike was only just over 5 km it was a good hard hike going up. Lots of stairs and rough rock underfoot. We had our picnic lunch up at the summit with its gorgeous 360 degree views.
The lava caves were quite tricky walking through as the ground was very uneven and it was very dark. There are a couple of caves on the island but Peter felt the one he took us into was the most interesting. 
The night before we had steak for dinner but I forgot to take the picture. Then dessert was pavlova, a New Zealand classic. It was very good.
In one side and then out the other.
That night we had dinner again at the hotel. I had the Snapper for dinner which I thought was quite good.
Dessert was chocolate mud cake which was not bad at all.
Tomorrow we leave early to drive down to Rotorua with some good stops on the way but no big hikes.
Enjoying your adventures, Wendy and Marion. In fact, Pav is an Australian dish. Please point that out to any New Zealanders who would claim otherwise.
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