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.

Sights of the City

We visited the National Museum to learn the history of the city  and the Maori culture. New Zealanders or Kiwi really showed an appreciation and reverence for the Maori culture that has shaped modern day Auckland.

A fascinating thing about the New Zealand region. The beautiful landscape of this country is due in a large part to the fertile soil left behind by long ago volcanic eruptions. I don't recall seeing "active volcano" field in the travel brochure.

A Maori meeting house. The intricate carvings on this house and other Maori artifacts displayed in the museum were awe inspiring.

 The Ferry Building was built in 1912 in an Edwardian Baroque style. It is the focal point for commuter ferries and is located by Queen's Wharf.

The Viaduct Harbor is a former industrial district that was a part of an extensive waterfront renovation in the 1990s.

Viaduct Harbor was the home base for the yachts that participated in the 1999 and 2002 America's Cup.

Auckland's Sky Tower is a tourist, broadcasting and telecommunications facility.

It stands 1,076 ft and is the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere.

Sky Tower silhouette in a downtown skyscraper. This tower can be seen from vantage points all over the city.

Auckland is known as the City of Sails and has the greatest number of pleasure boats per capita of any city in the world.

 

This house is part of a mile of Auckland's most expensive real estate. It overlooks a beach with the city as a backdrop.

More of the "million dollar mile". I should coin that phrase. One of these houses recently sold for $20 million.

This was a nice Israeli restaurant called IMAs that we tried. It had a very cool and chic decor. The decor reminded me of Amelies in Charlotte. A lot of the restaurants had automatic sliding glass doors that are more common in retail in the U.S.

We tried the lamb and the chicken.

I loved the unique light fixtures in the restaurant. The fixture in this picture utilizes repurposed cheese grates. They also managed to get the mismatch assortment of chairs to work in capturing their eclectic vibe.

Tea cup chandelier

The interior designer for IMAs didn't reserve all of her creativity for light fixtures.

Lebanese Lamb Shoulder

Chicken Meschan

Family style sides that come with the order.

The Parnell neighborhood is reportedly Bill Clinton's favorite place in Auckland. I can see why. The neighborhood is a cool arts and entertainment district. It's also the oldest neighborhood in Auckland. It reminds me of No Da in Charlotte.

We mailed my Mom's birthday card from here. That wasn't the original plan but the card hitched a ride overseas in my backpack. It was a few days late, but at least it had a cool New Zealand postmark.

This was a great little restaurant that we found off the beaten path in the Parnell neighborhood.

This is the alley that led us to the quaint little restaurant. It's a good thing that they advertise on the main street.

We had the place to ourselves. That was by no means an indictment on the food.

A nice little courtyard framed the restaurant. The owner was Italian and said that he was aiming for an Italian villa ambiance. He nailed it.

We had a nice, private lunch in a romantic setting.

I had the lunch special. It was as good as it looks.

Crystal had the soup. It was yummy according to her.

On our way to Sydney, Australia. We took a "travelator" in the airport. You might know it as a moving sidewalk.

The Air New Zealand plane in the foreground has the logo for the New Zealand All Blacks national rugby team. New Zealanders are fanatics for their rugby. The merchandise was everywhere and the rugby games dominated the TV broadcasts. We're taking the smaller Qantas plane to Australia and looking forward to the next adventurous leg of our trip.