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Published: August 18th 2006
Auckland Ferry Terminal
Queen Street begins on the other side of the building.Thursday 17 August 2006 - Island of Rangitoto Hike
Today I will take a ferry to Rangitoto Island for a day Hike.
The morning begins by heading down to the internet café where I send out a few emails to recruiters/employers. On the way back to my room I confirm cost and ferry times with the hostel receptions. I head upstairs to my room to wake the sulking British guy (Shawn) sharing my room to confirm that he still wanted to hike the island.
(I guess I should explain the “sulking” comment. Shawn had been in town for a few days. From our conversations in the evenings it sounded that he did not plan his days with any activities and typically ended up wandering the city aimlessly or watching television at the hostel. On Tuesday I had invited him to meet up with a group from my sponsor organization (IEP) and participate in a quiz night at a local pub. He was a no show by 5pm and we left without him. When I saw him later that night it seemed as if he felt slighted by being left behind. On Wednesday I told him about a
group outing to a comedy club, he lost the address and again did not show up. We I came back to the Hostel that night I found him putting together a very difficult and incomplete puzzle (prior guests had noted that at least 19 pieces were missing). Based on the amount he’d completed he must have been at it all day. I figured I’d give this guy one more chance and told him about our planned hike to the island the following morning. The invite brightened his spirits to some extent but it was apparent he felt that he’d been poorly treated.)
Shawn said he still wanted to come and made movements like he might gut up. I told him that he could meet us down at the ferry terminal by no later than 9:15am, which gave him 45 minutes to get ready, walk the 20 minutes to the terminal, find us and get on the ferry. Much to my surprise he made it on time.
When I had left that morning for the internet café the temperature must have been close to 60 degrees F and clear skies, however by 9:15am the clouds had moved in and
Island Rangitoto
Extinct volcano 600 years old. the temperature had dropped to perhaps 55 degrees. Based on my earlier observation I had elected to wear shorts, a light top, and a windbreaker. While on the ferry I was worried that I would regret the decision; fortunately the day warmed slightly and the physical exertion kept me plenty warm.
Ferry return ride cost $19 and took just over 30 minutes, with one stop in Devonport (across the way from Auckland CBD).
Mt. Rangitoto is an extinct volcano, and only 600 years old. The volcano erupted from the sea and built to a height of approximately 800 feet at the summit. The volcano is a low laying spread out island that rapidly builds to a picturesque summit. At the summit the rim has a loop walk that allows great views into the almost perfectly shaped inverted cone. Until 150 years ago the island was nearly barren, since then vegetation has taken hold in many areas, with a diverse collection of vegetation that varies by location on the island. Old lava flows, devoid of vegetation and even moss leave one thinking that they are on the moon.
The ferry arrived at 10am and we were off and
Auckland as Seen from Island
See the lava flow rocks. Some areas had no vegitation including moss. Some areas required us to hike over these surfaces. hiking. Our group had a number of destination on the island that they wanted to see but we only had five and a half hours before the last ferry of the day. At all times we had to be midful of how much time it would take to get back to the wharf. The last ferry for the day departs at 3:30pm and there are no accommodations on the island, in other words…. “make the ferry or spend the night on the island.” We pushed our luck right up to the very limit arriving 10 minutes before 3:30pm after a forced march of more than an hour.
In the end I calculated that we walked close to 20 km (9 miles) while on the island, most of which was more hiking up and down, over broken up lava flow rubble.
Highlights included:
Views of Auckland and surrounding landforms.
Diverse vegetation, much of it very foreign to me. Mosses, trees (waxy leaf), shrubs (waxy leaf), some grass, ferns, ground cover, and vines.
Nearly pristine and untouched my human intervention. On the north side of the island I couldn’t hear planes, could see boats, homes, cars, etc. and
only a handful of people on the island. It could have been 1706 rather than 2006.
Volcano summit. From this elevation an expansive horizon spread out before us.
Lava caves. These lava tubes, similar to Mt. St. Helen’s Ape caves were an interesting diversion. While we didn’t have flashlights we could do some exploring between sections that had ceiling cave-ins, which now allows light to penetrate the darker reaches of the caves. The trails in this area of the island were poorly marked we lost our way and almost fell into a 15 foot deep hole. No guardrails in this part of the park.
At the end of this long day all were tired and had sore feet to complain about. Went to a pub to play pool and relax for the evening.
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