Rangitoto Island

 We took a day trip to visit the volcano island of Rangitoto. This was our ferry.

Rangitoto literally means "bloody sky" in Maori. This volcanic island is a public reserve and is managed by the Dept of Conservation. Much of the island has been left undisturbed since its inception. You can almost picture the oozing lava frozen in time. In this case, it has formed what's called slab lava. This occurs when molten lava meets ocean water and is prevalent along the coastal edges of the island.

Rangitoto erupted from the sea in a series of dramatic explosions around 600 years ago. It's the youngest island in the Hauraki Gulf and the largest volcano to be formed in the Auckland volcanic field which boasts 48 distinct volcanic cones.

Our guide was one of a handful of permanent residents on the island. There is no running water or electricity so he lives a very primitive life.

We did a guided tour of the island on a 4WD road-train. It was needed to navigate the rocky terrain.

Some of the lush native bush growing on the island. It's a wonder that anything grows. The lava fields are like chunks of concrete.

The Dept of Conservation is serious about keeping the island pest free. They underwent an extensive effort to rid the island of pests that were decimating the forest and native bush. Traps are still baited and checked weekly to ensure any unsuspecting ferry stowaways don't run rampant.

A rodent trap to control the reintroduction of pests. These are placed throughout the island.

Along the single main road there are fields of clinka basalt lava. It is dense, heavy and has sharp edges. It has a rock quality akin to concrete and doesn't break off easily. It appears to be loose, but most of it is fused together with some loose pieces on top.

Since no construction equipment was allowed on the island, the single main road that we're traveling was established by hand. The government decided to use prison labor instead of additional taxpayer money to build the road on the island. Prisoners with major and minor offenses where ferried to the island to work on the road project. They had to do everything by hand and no gloves were issued. I told you they were serious about conservation.

A rare bach (house) on the island.

Clinka lava forms when lava cools quickly and moves so fast it shatters into this chunky texture.

Our train dropped us off at the base of the summit cone so that we could hike to the top.

Beautiful views along our ascent to the top. This is a glimpse of Motutapu Island.

A little selfie along the way. Still climbing.

More stunning views along the way.

Just shy of the summit, we stop off to view the actual crater that made this island possible.

We've finally reached the summit and it's worth it.

From the summit: We're on top of the bottom of the world!

This is kind of how I imagine the soil on Mars to look. This reddish, brown scoria is like soil and is only found near the summit of the volcano.

It has a very fine texture like dirt especially compared to the other lava texture. Kids were even playing in the stuff.

This was the third form of lava that we saw. It's called block lava and has a wall like texture.

More block lava

I'm chilling in a large, clinka volcano field. Well, that's not something that you say every day.

This is the Western side of the island. It had great views of Auckland.

A cool light house surrounded by slab lava islands.