Rangitoto Island

The guy at Tourist Information reminded me of the guy in Delhi when I heard him tell another tourist that the train is fully booked. I didn't know what train, I didn't care, I just didn't like the guy. He advised me against the Explorer bus, making me loathe the guy even more, dammit, and suggested a boat to Rangitoto Island instead. The reason? The good weather.

OK, so maybe he had a point. It was a nice day today, if a little cold.

Rangitoto was formed by a volcanic eruption just 600 years ago. It took 25 minutes to travel there by boat and the whole trip from start to finish was wonderfully scenic. Actually, the weather couldn't have been better.


My walking partner was 28-year-old Nic who works at a Zoo here in Auckland. Like me, she wanted to march partway around the outside of the island then head inland towards the summit. The time of the last boat back to shore meant we would only have three hours on the island, yet the route we selected would take three-and-a-half according to the map, and that's without stopping for food or to take photos.

The crater near the summit of the volcano:


It was indeed a power walk and we were forced to skip the cool-sounding lava caves. But we found time to eat (Nic shared her lunch with me!) and managed to take a few reasonable snaps. It's still not completely clear if the boat people were forced to leave people who were late back to the boat on the island overnight...


Auckland skyline:


Nic took my number. Maybe we'll meet for dinner later this week. I could do with some friends here in Auckland.