An iconic symbol of Auckland is Rangitoto Island. It's visible throughout the Hauraki Gulf, and it looks the same regardless of the viewer's location due to its symmetrical slopes. It looks like a cone because it's a volcano. Yesterday we went to visit it.
We took the ferry boat over; it's only about fifteen minutes beyond Devonport. The captain got on the intercom to remind us to visit the cafe on the boat for any necessary provisions, as there are no shops or even water sources on the island. He also reminded us that the last ferry off the island was at 5 pm and if we were to miss it, we'd have a cold night waiting for the next ferry at 9:45 the following morning.
The last time I was here was in 2006 when I hiked the direct trail from the wharf to the summit (maybe 5 miles, round trip?) and took in the view while fondly patting Amiri, who was at that point a half-done and as-yet unnamed bun in the oven. This time around, with two short-legged and distractable little guys in tow, a long walk just wasn't in the cards so we opted to take the tractor-train tour for a scenic drive around the island and up to the vista.
The tractor pulled us along a rugged trail through the largest pohutukawa forest in NZ and past big unruly piles of basalt. The rocks look as if they were haphazardly piled by a digger. But in fact this is just how the volcano deposited them.
Our guide explained that the lava, containing a high concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide and other gases, flowed down the slope at a great rate. The surface lava cooled faster than that underneath, and the temperature differential resulted in spontaneous liberation of the trapped gases (in other words, explosions) to create an island that was basically one big heap of rough, airy chunks of high surface-area basalt ranging in size from a golf ball to a refrigerator.
We got out at one big lava field to take a good look. The boys thought that that nothing could possibly be more fun that throwing chunks around and watching how puffs of dust came up with each impact.
I mostly just hovered around them with dire mom-like warnings to be careful and not to run; the rocks are beyond rough, more like irregular cheese graters. I can only imagine the fate of someone who takes a header here.
Although there certainly are spots like this that are basically unchanged since the island's birth, most of the island has been thoroughly covered in plant life. The basalt breaks down into a powder readily enough, and although it's not quite soil yet (earthworms can't live here), it's apparently enough to sustain ferns and bracken and those exuberant pohutukawas. Then of course, there's the lichen and a mutant breed of mangrove that grows directly on the rocks themselves to help the process along.
Here is what the inside of the cone looks like today. It is very cool to think that only just 700 years ago, this was fire.
And here are some views looking back toward the city from the top. A spectacular spot.
Now. Here is my favourite part about Rangitoto. Scientists have of course studied its origins, but what's awesome is that their geological hypotheses are backed up by the verbal history passed down from the people who were actually there when it came to be.
You see, 700 or so years ago, Rangitoto did not exist. The only large island in the Hauraki was Motutapu, home to an established community of people who farmed its fertile rolling hills. One summer they noticed a massive fish die-off, and some ominous steam beginning to rise from the nearby water, accompanied by frequent small earthquakes. That soon escalated into full-on volcanic eruptions, and after a year or two of blood-red skies and what I can only imagine was some off-the-scale anxiety amongst Auckland residents, Rangitoto had reared out of the sea to its current height (5 meters higher than the Sky Tower), dwarfing Motutapu and extending to its very shores.
This is looking down from a point nearly at the summit. You can see the abrupt change in topography and vegetation between the volcanic Rangitoto and the non-volcanic Motutapu.
We took the ferry boat over; it's only about fifteen minutes beyond Devonport. The captain got on the intercom to remind us to visit the cafe on the boat for any necessary provisions, as there are no shops or even water sources on the island. He also reminded us that the last ferry off the island was at 5 pm and if we were to miss it, we'd have a cold night waiting for the next ferry at 9:45 the following morning.
The last time I was here was in 2006 when I hiked the direct trail from the wharf to the summit (maybe 5 miles, round trip?) and took in the view while fondly patting Amiri, who was at that point a half-done and as-yet unnamed bun in the oven. This time around, with two short-legged and distractable little guys in tow, a long walk just wasn't in the cards so we opted to take the tractor-train tour for a scenic drive around the island and up to the vista.
The tractor pulled us along a rugged trail through the largest pohutukawa forest in NZ and past big unruly piles of basalt. The rocks look as if they were haphazardly piled by a digger. But in fact this is just how the volcano deposited them.
Our guide explained that the lava, containing a high concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide and other gases, flowed down the slope at a great rate. The surface lava cooled faster than that underneath, and the temperature differential resulted in spontaneous liberation of the trapped gases (in other words, explosions) to create an island that was basically one big heap of rough, airy chunks of high surface-area basalt ranging in size from a golf ball to a refrigerator.
We got out at one big lava field to take a good look. The boys thought that that nothing could possibly be more fun that throwing chunks around and watching how puffs of dust came up with each impact.
I mostly just hovered around them with dire mom-like warnings to be careful and not to run; the rocks are beyond rough, more like irregular cheese graters. I can only imagine the fate of someone who takes a header here.
Although there certainly are spots like this that are basically unchanged since the island's birth, most of the island has been thoroughly covered in plant life. The basalt breaks down into a powder readily enough, and although it's not quite soil yet (earthworms can't live here), it's apparently enough to sustain ferns and bracken and those exuberant pohutukawas. Then of course, there's the lichen and a mutant breed of mangrove that grows directly on the rocks themselves to help the process along.
Here is what the inside of the cone looks like today. It is very cool to think that only just 700 years ago, this was fire.
And here are some views looking back toward the city from the top. A spectacular spot.
Now. Here is my favourite part about Rangitoto. Scientists have of course studied its origins, but what's awesome is that their geological hypotheses are backed up by the verbal history passed down from the people who were actually there when it came to be.
You see, 700 or so years ago, Rangitoto did not exist. The only large island in the Hauraki was Motutapu, home to an established community of people who farmed its fertile rolling hills. One summer they noticed a massive fish die-off, and some ominous steam beginning to rise from the nearby water, accompanied by frequent small earthquakes. That soon escalated into full-on volcanic eruptions, and after a year or two of blood-red skies and what I can only imagine was some off-the-scale anxiety amongst Auckland residents, Rangitoto had reared out of the sea to its current height (5 meters higher than the Sky Tower), dwarfing Motutapu and extending to its very shores.
This is looking down from a point nearly at the summit. You can see the abrupt change in topography and vegetation between the volcanic Rangitoto and the non-volcanic Motutapu.
3 comments:
What a fantastic place!
It's amazing to see those poufy lava rocks explode in little clouds of dust! Looks like you all had quite an adventure!
This place does look like another world to me. It was very interesting to read the history. I bet the boys loved it. I would have been a nervous nellie watching them but they did great and were careful.
Wowee!!! The header with the plant growing on lava is tenacious and beautiful! And this place is fascinating, what fun to see it again and share it's beauty and mystery!!!
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