After a rough nights sleep and the alarm not going off we had to get ready quickly this morning as we had a 9:15 tour from the Harbor. We got ready had some breakfast from Muffin Break and headed to the Wharf. The boat from Auckland to Rangaito Island took about 30 minutes with a stop at Devonport, It was sunny but also very windy and a very enjoyable trip.
We alighted at the wharf on Rangaito Island. The island if fully made from a volcano eruption. There is not soil on this island only lava rocks and yet somehow it has become a forest over hundreds of years with native NZ flora growing onto the lava rocks. We had booked a tour that goes around the island, however you can also hike around it. We found our tractor and met John our guide for the day. We got seated and off we went. The ride was extremely bumpy and John keep us entertained with facts and jokes about the island. The island is amazing. It is such a bizarre scenery that’s its hard to believe. I said to Anthony the NZ trees look fake, they are amazingly weird.
We saw lots of lava and forest and learnt about the 4 different types of Lava that form. Half way through the tour we stopped near the summit to hike to the top.
The walk up to the top is not the easiest one but we had enough time to walk it and take in the amazing view of the crater and the view from the top. The photos we took do not do this place justice, it is beautiful. We arrived back at the tractor after our hike and continued the rest of the tour round the coast. There is no Electricity or water on the island. So the few people (10) i think who have holiday houses have to bring everything across. By Holiday houses I also mean tiny cabin. John our guide lives on the island for part of the year. He said when tourists are gone the fishing at this place is amazing.
Begrudgingly we took the boat back to Auckland and decided to go shopping. Anthony got some dice and then he bought me a kiwi Pandora charm for my bracelet. It is so Amazing. We had lunch at a Japanese restaurant which was very nice and then walked up hill to Sky Tower.
We bought the sun and stars upgrade as part of the sky tower which was only $4 more on top of the ticket. This allowed us to return as often as we wanted in 24 hours. We went up into the Sky Tower and watched some people complete the Sky Jump. We had a look around and took some photos. The view is beautiful. After sky tower we decided to go back to the hotel and have a rest.
We regained our energy and before sunset we headed back to the sky tower. We stayed up and watched the sunset which was
amazing. Instead of staying til dark we ducked downstairs and went and had dinner at The Midnight Express which was a Turkish restaurant and had amazing food. Very impressive. We finished the night by going back up to grab some night shots. What a fun day in Auckland.
