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The day before my birthday we headed to Rangitoto Island to conquer a fitness goal off my list. You know, because climbing up a nice little dormant volcano is a great fitness goal!
Rangitoto emerged from the sea 700 years ago and today is recreation reserve. The island is well protected and there is no construction or anything fancy there. There are 10 short and long walks on the island. You could do all of them but we planned to do just a few.
We took the ferry across from Auckland on what was a lovely day.
It was sunny and just warm enough when we started. Kepa and I both had packs with some food and clothes to change into later. There are no shops on the island so you have to bring enough food and water to last your trip. My awesome “hiking” clothes for the day:
When we got to the island there were way more people there than I thought. It was the last Saturday of school holidays here so lots of people were out enjoying the nice day.
The summit hike started at the wharf where the ferries drop people off and goes all the way to the top of the mountain you can see in the background. The majority of the trail is rocks/gravel surrounded by lots of lava rock and tons of trees, shrubs, and wildlife.
Apparently the summit trail and most of the roads on the island were built in the 1920s and 1930s by prison laborers! They’ve made improvements and updates since obviously since Kepa informed me of new areas since his last visit 13 years ago.
I had a slight obsession with the lava rocks and kept taking photos because I thought it was so cool. Believe me, I’m showing you only a few of the photos I took! I found it so interesting to see where the rocks were and imagining the last eruption involving lava flowing. Volcanoes and lava are terrifying but luckily these days we get advance warning of eruptions!
The walk wasn’t too hard going up for about 3/4 of the way. There was a lot to look at including some areas with information about the island built as a resting spot with seating in several places along the way.
I found these leaves with such an interesting shape… there were tons of them growing from the ground!
About 3/4 of the way up we took a little detour to loop around a trail to see the lava caves. This trail was more woodsy and had rocks in the middle of the trail instead of being a flatter surface created with gravel/rocks. It was also less steep than the summit trail so that was a nice break as well as a change of scenery.
The caves themselves were a bit spooky but fun to explore.
We didn’t know we needed a flashlight for the caves (so we weren’t 100% prepared!) but still decided to go through at least one. Luckily between some natural light, phones, and the camera we made it in and out without breaking any ankles or getting stuck.
After the lava caves detour we climbed the rest of the summit trail. And climbed is accurate. There were stairs, a steep incline for several minutes, and then more stairs. We stopped to take a photo at the crater, which is where the volcano erupted/would erupt.
Then after a two minute walk up the stairs we reached the summit!
Gorgeous views, right?
You could see SO FAR from the top. It’s definitely the best view I’ve had so far in Auckland, even better than the skytower.
Another self portrait at the top. By that point I was getting quite pink from the sun despite my sunblock and hat.
The walk to the top only takes an hour or so at an easy pace. I think we did the first part much faster than that and then the final part on that pace when it was steeper. It’s pretty accessible for almost any fitness level even beginners and kids. If you are in Auckland at some point (or live here and haven’t gone) you should definitely consider it!
After a few minutes up top enjoying the view we hiked around the crater rim and then down a new path. We stopped for lunch which was just a sandwich and chips and an apple – it reminded me of my lunches from school.
We enjoyed a nice shady view while eating.
Then we packed up and carried on!
Our next stretch of the hike involved a “road” that was gravel and lots of rocks leading down the back part of the mountain.
It said this walk would take 45 minutes and it probably did but it felt like it took forever! I guess because the scenery didn’t change much from the above photo and we were constantly looking down anyway to avoid rocks it felt a bit long and drawn out.
At the end of the road there was a cute surprise: a lighthouse!
I love lighthouses and didn’t even know there were any around here. It was nice to see this one at the end of the road at McKenzie Bay.
By the time we reached this beach at McKenzie Bay we were tired. We were a bit sunburnt and had hiked around 5 miles at that point. We actually spent a few minutes at the beach happily resting then realized if we left and booked it back to the wharf we could catch an earlier ferry.
That sounded like a great idea since we were already tired. There is nothing on the island beyond trails and a few historical bach houses (private summer home type of deal) so we didn’t want to get stuck on the island for more than an hour with nothing to do.
The last part of our walk was along the coastal road. It started off with these amazing trees.
And ended with a bunch of old houses and abandoned boat houses built in the 1920s and 1930s. Apparently people used to live on Rangitoto at the beginning of the last century but since 1937 no one has been allowed to build on the island.
The trail ended in the bach community. By the time we saw them and knew we were close we were slightly delirious from the hike. It was our longest and steepest so far, totaling 8 miles over almost 3 hours of walking. At the end we were tired and my feet were done. I definitely need better shoes than the old running shoes that are worn thin in the soles… they didn’t hold up well for that distance!
Needless to say, the appearance of the ferry at the end of our walk made us ecstatic.
Despite being incredibly tired by the end we were so happy we went to Rangitoto and explored it. It was a super fun day of hiking and hanging out in a gorgeous nature setting – the perfect way to celebrate my 26th birthday. And now I can cross this off my fitness goals and move on to the next one!
Related posts:
Biking Around Waiheke Island
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