Thursday 27 January Rangitoto summit

Rangitoto cone

Rangitoto is a volcano that erupted between 600 to 800 years ago. It's now dormant and a national park with a nice walk to the summit at 290m for views over Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf. NZ has evidence of volcanic activity throughout – Auckland is built on 27 old volcanoes, geysers and hot springs to the south, thermal pools on Gt Barrier Island.

For David and I if there's a mountain to climb we're on our way. Today we took the long route walking from Islington Bay (interesting note; I lived in the original Islington, London N1 for many years) to Mackenzie Bay by the rugged coastal track and then up an easier path to the summit. Not only was it hot but the black lava soaked up and radiated heat. However, the view from the summit was well worth it on this clear day. We could see across Auckland City to almost the Tasman sea on the west coast, to the north Kawau island, Gt Barrier and Coromandel Peninsula to the east and the Firth of Thames to the south. I find that a strange description. Firth is Scottish for bay or estuary and Thames is a river in England. Actual origin of the word Thames is from the latin tamus which means river. (With thanks to the Museum of London, Docklands branch for that snippet.)

Auckland in the background

View across to Motutapu

Meanwhile back on Rangitoto we viewed the views, took the requisite photos, walked around the crater and returned to Islington Bay by the direct route. We'd been out walking for 5 hours and the time had flown by. We were hot and dusty and in need of a swim to cool off and clean up. The water is definitely warmer than when we first arrived in NZ or perhaps it's the presence of a volcano.