This was probably one of the most intense options I ever did on a trip – taking a helicopter and flying to an active volcano 50 km off the coast and actually landing in its caldera. Here our captain turned into a geologist guide and during a one hour walk within the caldera explained to us the different stones and geological processes.

Given the surroundings we did not only have a hardhat, but also a breathing mask – which turned out handy, when we found ourselves (as to be expected in the caldera of an active volcano) in clouds of sulfuric acid. I have been around many active volcanoes already, also been in the calderas of a few – but the experience was never this intense.

After the tour we did not head back directly – we took a sidetrip to Mt. Tarawera to get a birdseye view of the spectacular crater lakes.