Rangitoto Island

Rangitoto is the symmetrical cone that closes every view east from Auckland, and it is the newest land in the region - it erupted from the sea floor around six hundred years ago, within the memory of Maori who were living on the neighbouring island of Motutapu and whose footprints were found preserved in the ash. Because the lava is so recent, the island is essentially a heap of loose scoria with almost no soil, and what grows on it does so directly in the rock: the largest pohutukawa forest in the world, mosses and ferns in the crevices, and a succession of plant communities that ecologists have studied here for a century. The summit walk takes about an hour each way over black clinker, and there is a side track into lava caves formed where the crust hardened over still-flowing rock. From the top the whole Hauraki Gulf and the city lie below.

History

Rangitoto erupted in two phases around 1450 and 1500, within the memory of Ngāi Tai on neighbouring Motutapu, where human footprints have been found between layers of its ash. The Crown bought it for £15 in 1854, it was set aside as a recreation reserve in 1890, and the wharf and summit road opened in 1897 (Wikipedia, Rangitoto Island).

Highlights

• The summit cone - an hour's climb over loose black lava.
• The pohutukawa forest - the largest anywhere, growing on bare rock.
• The lava caves - tubes left where molten rock drained away.
• The gulf view - Auckland and the islands from the crater rim.

When to go

October to April. Take the earliest ferry - the last one back is early and missing it is a serious problem, since nobody stays on the island.

Things to know

There is no water, no food and no shelter - carry everything, including more water than feels necessary. The lava is sharp and uneven, so proper shoes matter. It is exposed with almost no shade.

Nearby

Motutapu is joined by a causeway; Tiritiri Matangi and Waiheke are elsewhere in the gulf.

Key facts