ELo and JRock do NZL: Volcanos (x2)

Yesterday we set out on the Coast to Coast trail (a 16km walkway through Auckland that separates the Pacific Ocean from the Tasman Sea). Due to the poor signage and our short attention spans, we quickly found ourselves elsewhere. Our most notable points of interest on our version of the walk were:

- An unsettling souvenir shop featuring two stuffed baby deer modelling the latest hats and scarf fashions

- Emily Place

- The duck pond in the Auckland Domain (which both promised and failed to deliver deer statues)

- A fernery (these kiwi-folk have a thing for ferns)

- “Mt. Eden” aka Mt. Hobson (see below)

We decided we wanted to climb at least one volcanic peak on our day-long walk, so we set off towards Mt Eden. We could see it from our post-lunch nap location next to Auckland museum on a gargantuan stretch of daisy-infested turf, and decided to navigate the streets sans-map (it’s more fun that way). Apparently it’s a general rule that kiwi signage sucks. This includes both directions to sites of interest as well as labelling of volcanic peaks. Once we had summit-ed “Mt Eden”, we quickly discovered there was no symmetrical crater, as Lonely Planet had promised. After some sleuthing and horizon scanning, we deduced we were in fact on Mt. Hobson- slightly less prestigious than Mt Eden (some, perhaps, might consider it a glorified cow pasture). But we were content to sit on the grass and look out over the city (and boy, did Mt Eden look nice).

A note on our descent: Emily’s comment “this slope is steeper than it looks” turned out to be true, manifested in a not-so-controlled slide.

On to today!

We caught the early-bird ferry to Rangitoto island (it’s pretty much a volcano). We were so early that we had the volcano almost all to ourselves. The trip included highlights such as hiking to the summit, walking around the (rather impressive) crater, and finding some silver ferns (seriously, this island is infested with ferns). Most notably, however, were the lava caves and tunnels! Between the two of us, we somehow managed not to bring a single headlamp (or a camera flash), but braved the deep, dark, depths anyhow. Rangitoto was full of surprises, including a random collection of tennis balls sitting amidst a field of black volcanic rock, a black gull breeding colony, and a cat-eradication program (the jury’s out on whether it’s poison or leg-trap based). As we were hiking, we had to remind ourselves we didn’t need bear spray due to the serious lack of mammals (of any kind. Honestly, give us a squirrel already! We hear scuttles in the underbrush and it always turns out to be a bird. Full on disappointing).

We’re looking forward to getting out of the city tomorrow when we pick up our sleepervan and venture up to the North of the North Island! We’re not sure when we’ll have internet next, so if you don’t hear from us, assume we’re having an awesome time.

E noho ra,

E & J