Today's adventure was hiking to the summit of Mt. Rangitoto (Rang-e-toe-toe). Mt. Rangitoto is Auckland's newest volcanoes in the volcanic field. By new I mean it is only 600 years old whereas the other volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field are several thousand years old. 600 years ago Mt. Rangitoto erupted from the ocean and formed an island just off the coast of Auckland. To get to the island you first have to take a ferry from downtown Auckland. I, for one, found it to be a bit pricey but then again so is everything down here. So I paid my $27 and hopped on for my 30 minute ride across the harbour. It was good to see the Auckland skyline from the harbour, and the view of Mt. Rangitoto as we approached it.
After disembarking from the ferry it was very apparent that we were on a volcano. The shoreline was black rock dotted with air holes. There was lots of vegetation but it was trees and bushes and very little grass. Before taking the ferry I knew they were predicting rain for the afternoon so I took the first ferry out and wanted to race the rain to the summit. That way if the rain started then it would be on my descent from the top. I started the walk and the guide said that it was about an hour to the summit from the wharf. I started onto the trail and on both sides there were huge patches of volcanic rock and little vegetation. The trail was also like walking on small charcoal briquettes because it was made up of the bits of volcanic rock. The start of the trail was pretty easy going then right around the half way mark it started to get steeper and steeper. Since I was racing the rain I was rushing a bit up the path, that all stopped when the grade got higher. Before long I was at the top, it didn't take an hour. The crater was very big, much bigger then Mt. Eden, but in this crater there were lots of lots of trees. I didn't expect the trees, I kind of expected it to be rocky like the rest of it. I think I would have been much more impressed if it was rocky. Then it was another few minutes to the lookout on the crater rim track.
The look out was most impressive and the view was amazing. I am using a picture from the look out as my something beautiful today because it really was breath taking! It also started to rain just as I reached the look out, but it was just a sprinkle anyway. I had a look around, and was debating on stopping for lunch there but then the crowd of people from the ferry started reaching the summit so I ate my lunch as I was walking back down towards the Lava Caves. If I can avoid large groups of tourists on activities like that I always do. The rain ceased for the rest of the hike by the time I was leaving so that made the rest of the day much more enjoyable.
The lava caves are formations made from when the volcano erupted. The lava came pouring down the side of the mountain and the outside of the flow cooled before the inside. Leaving a tunnel like formation of rock. There is a lava cave circuit to walk, but I will fess up right at the beginning I was too chicken to walk the whole circuit through the caves. I took a light as the pamphlet said to, but those caves were scurry! They were creepy, cold and pitch black. I tried my hand at one, but soon decided that caving was not in the cards for me today. I think if I had been with a hiking partner it would have been more bearable, but I was by myself and there was no one else around. So I did the track on top of the caves and had a peek inside each one. Then I went back to the wharf to catch the ferry. I thought walking up the mountain was a bit difficult, walking down was actually pretty hard. The loose footing combined with jello legs made it slowish going for the steep parts. I made it back to the wharf with time to have a seat and relax.
After a half day of hiking I went to buy a pair of rubber boots because we are expecting a lot of rain for the winter months and I don't have any waterproof shoes. The good news is, I am a 10 again! In one style of boots I was even a 9! That right there is enough for me to stay in New Zealand!
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