Wednesday, September 23, 2015

 

Rangitoto Volcano

As cruise ships leave Auckland harbour in New Zealand they pass through the Rangitoto Channel. This channel separates Rangitoto Island from the mainland and passengers get a great view of the island as the ship passes. Rangitoto is Maori for "Bloody Sky", named after the death of a chief during a battle. Rangitoto is a dormant volcano, one of the 50 or so volcanoes in the Auckland area. I am not sure that I would like living in the middle of a volcano field, even if the last eruptions were around 550 years ago. Auckland civil defence groups have evacuation plans ready, just in case. The island is about 6km across and the volcanic cone is 260 metres high. Over the years the island has been a Maori settlement, a quarry site, the site of many military installations during WW2, and a wrecking ground for old ships (you can still see some on the northern beach at low tide). You can visit Rangitoto via ferry from Auckland. Since 1890 the island has been a recreation reserve and day trips have been run pretty well since then.Today, there is a walking track to the summit and 4WD tours of the island. And there are little lighthouses marking the safe channel, so this small bear had a happy time as we passed by on Voyager of the Seas in December 2012.Actually, we will be passing there again on Christmas Day this year; Dad and I are taking Mum on another cruise on Voyager for her big birthday (if any of you are on this cruise, do come and meet me).

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