Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Aotearoa

Painted picket fence with Maori design/art at the entrance to the Government Gardens. (Picture was taken with a Rollei Prego 90 > scan.)

Muriwai's gannet colony at Otakamiro Point is a one of the three colonies on the mainland of New Zealand, although out to sea, the colony continues on two vertical-sided islands (Oaia - where the colony first established - and Motutara). About 1.200 pairs of Australasian gannets nest here from August to March each year. The birds return from Australia to establish contact again with their lifelong mates. The nests of the breeding colony are just centimetres apart. Each pair lays one egg and the parents take turns on the nest and strive for food by diving into the sea at up to 145 km per hour. The chicks hatch naked, but within a week they're covered with fluffy down. As they mature, they grow juvenile feathers and begin to exercise their wings in preparation for the one-shot jump off the cliff. Once airborne, the young gannets leave the colony and cross the Tasman Sea to Australia. A few years later, surviving birds return to secure a nest site at the colony.

White Island - New Zealand's is situated 50 km's off the coast of the Bay of Plenty near the town of Whakatane. Although some companies offer helicopter-flights over the island, I highly recommend a guided boat tour from Whakatane. It is more than worth the money. Total duration of such a tour is about 6 hours, including 2 hours visit of the volcano itself. White Island is New Zealand's most active marine volcano and steam and gas are rising continuously from its craters. The plume of smoke and gas can be seen from the mainland. It has a nearly continuous stage of smoking, at least since it was 'discovered' by James Cook in 1769, which gave White Island its name. The island has an extremely fascinating scenery and is so remote, so pure and so different from many other spots. It is almost if you are witness of the birth of the earth or walking on the moon. The bright yellow sulphurous vents, the smell of the gases and rumbling of the inner earth under our feet provide an unique experience. (The pictures were taken with a Rollei Prego 90 > scan.)