Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Honeymooners describe rescuers as 'true heroes'

By Tess Nichol
Reporter·Rotorua Daily Post·
19 Jan, 2016 07:46 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Panagiota and Mathew Stone on their wedding day.

Panagiota and Mathew Stone on their wedding day.

A newly-wed American couple had a "surreal" start to their honeymoon when the boat they were on caught fire, one day after they arrived in New Zealand to begin their holiday.

Mathew and Panagiota Stone were on board the White Island Tours boat to see the volcano after their original plan, to go diving, was cancelled due to bad weather.

The pair were married in Jacksonville, Florida, in mid-November last year and planned to spend just over a week in New Zealand before travelling on to Tahiti.

Mr Stone said they would still explore the North and South Islands until next Tuesday as planned.

"I wouldn't say it's put us off New Zealand. We've been absolutely in awe driving from Auckland to Whakatane, it's such a beautiful place," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Because we were able to get out of it without any harm or loss of anything of value it just seems like an adventure. I'd say we're probably more endeared to the country than ever before."

Mr Stone admitted he was "very frightened" when he saw how big the fire was and how quickly it was spreading.

"[We were] incredibly scared. We thought at any time the boat was going to explode. That was the big concern."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Stone said he grabbed his wife as they decided who would jump first. She told him she wanted it to be him.

"We were holding on to each other and I kept telling her 'we're going to be okay, we're going to be okay'. I was confident I could jump but I was worried she might not, so once I hit the water I just sat there and waited, praying in my head she was going to clear the boat [waiting below], land safely."

The captain helped Mrs Stone to jump, throwing her over the side and she and her husband clambered on to a fishing boat.

Mr Stone said he wanted to thank the people in the fishing boat who pulled them out of the ocean to safety.

Discover more

New Zealand

Skipper's actions praised for saving passengers' lives

18 Jan 11:22 PM

Cause of boat fire not yet known

19 Jan 03:05 AM

Police: Watch for roadworks

19 Jan 09:15 PM

Ngongotaha Stream remains unfit for swimming

20 Jan 09:20 PM

"The people who helped us did so without regard to their own safety and that was pretty amazing. I only wish I had their names or at least the name of the boat. They are true heroes."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Rotorua Daily Post

'Social dysfunction at its worst': Two people sentenced over Rotorua teen prostitution ring

04 Jul 01:08 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM

Peter was trapped under a tractor for hours on his Mangakino farm.

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

'Social dysfunction at its worst': Two people sentenced over Rotorua teen prostitution ring

'Social dysfunction at its worst': Two people sentenced over Rotorua teen prostitution ring

04 Jul 01:08 AM
'A f****** ugly mess': Gang boss' text after fatal hotbox attack on mate of 20 years

'A f****** ugly mess': Gang boss' text after fatal hotbox attack on mate of 20 years

04 Jul 12:24 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP