Steam Plume Morning

I thought I'd post these photos finally although it's been a week since I went on this lava viewing boat ride. We gathered at Pohoiki in the early morning darkness and actually boarded the boat on land, using a ladder. Most bizarre and unexpected. But then the boat was trundled down the boat ramp, into the water, and then it powered through the surf and we were on our way. Phosphorescent specks flew past us in the upsurging foam, and I could only guess at our location from the dim silhouette of the landscape. We approached the plume as it became illuminated in the pre-dawn light, and cruised around in the water in front of it while the rising sun gradually pinkened the sky and then the plume itself. Needless to say it was an amazing experience, and very impressive to have that close-up view of the steam surging and rising and billowing rapidly like a living thing, all the while sprinkling gritty ash all over us and the boat.