Rangitoto Continued

Okay, so to describe my day on Rangitoto in more detail....

As you all know, Rangitoto is an island/volcano that sits in the Hauraki Gulf just outside of Auckland. From most anywhere in Auckland you can see the volcano. Yesterday I decided to take the ferry out to the uninhabited island to hike to the summit and around the island. I left the city at 10:30 on the ferry and arrived shortly before 11. I hiked immediately up the summit. It is advertised as taking about 1 hour at an easy pace - I think I did it in about 40 minutes. Although the path is well groomed it is a bit of a tough hike, mostly because it's all up hill. It's about 1.5 miles up to the top. You get to walk though lots of areas where the lava is still exposed which is quite cool. There are also lots of signs along the way teaching you about volcanos, geology, etc... Here's a few photos from the hike up:

The city

Volcanic Rock

The city

When you get to the top there is a nice lookout as well as a pathway that winds around the summit. I did some looking out from the top. Here's what you can see:

Looking into the Hauraki Gulf

The Sky Tower

The Harbor Bridge

Selfie attempt. You can't see the city but it's there.

Looking over to the neighboring island, Motutapu. Look how different the vegetation is between the two islands. Crazy, isn't it?

Waiheke island in the background. Waiheke island is the large island in the Hauraki gulf. There are about 8.700 people who live on the island permanently but way more people are there in the summer for vacation. 

After hiking to the top I hiked down to McKenzie Bay and went for a short swim. There's a lighthouse out in McKenzie Bay:

Looking at the lighthouse. The norther beaches are in the background.

On my walk back I came across this beautiful water:

A nice path, isn't it?

Rangitoto Island used to be inhabited and the people who lived there all had baches (the NZ equivalent of a cabin). Here are some photos of the ones that are still standing:

That's all from Rangitoto.

In work news, I had my own tables at work tonight, I wasn't just running food. It went pretty well. I had one customer who asked tons of questions on the menu, a few too many for me to be able to answer, but I did my best. It was good to get more face time with the customers, but it's going to take a bit of time for me to get used to it all.

Rainy day in Auckland today as well. On and off all day, but lots of times of very heavy ran. I guess this is what I can expect for winter. Not as bad as -45!

Best!