Rangitoto Island

Jess came in and woke me up this morning - I had fallen asleep again after my alarm went off! It was raining and miserable so we decided not to do Waiheke Island which has amazing beaches but to do Rangitoto Island as there is a 2-3 hour walk and then we could stop off in Devonport on the way back for lunch!

We got the 9.15 ferry to Rangitoto which is a dormant volcano just across the harbour from Auckland (Auckland has around 48 volcanoes) the weather was pretty awful and we were worried about the views from the summit!

When we got to Rangitoto Island 20 minutes later it had stopped raining and the clouds were beginning to break. We started heading up the track and it was very stony when we cam along a massive lava flow - not really hot lava obviously! It was from when the volcanoe erupted 600 years ago! It was quite freaky as there we were trundling along and wham! There between all the bush was a big rive of black stones!

It was similar all the way up - lush bush then a big black river of stone! It got quite steep and it was literally an hour to get up to the top! At the top you could see the crater and we walked up to the viewing platforms - during the walk the sun came out so we were sweltering having dressed for rain!

The views were amazing, you could see all of the other islands and Auckland. It is literally like being on top of the world!

We walked back down to the lava caves - we didn't have a torch so we couldn't go in but apparently it is quite cool!

We headed down the volcano to the ferry terminal and got the ferry to Devonport - yes it also has a navy base!!!

I've now seen the australian and new zealand navy and they are so small!

In Devonport which was very cute - lots of little boutique shops we went for Fush and Chups (That's how the Kiwi's pronounce it!). Really nice! They don't do curry sauce here though! But you get to decide whether you want your fish battered or crumbed!

We went back to Auckland and we went to the supermarket as both Jess and I leave tomorrow, me to the Bay of Islands and Jess to Rotorua. We got pizza for dinner!

Back at the hostel we scrubbed a baking tray for 15 minutes and black muck was still coming off of it! Then we discovered both the ovens were broken! So we ended up having Thai in an Asian food court!

Back at the hostel I showered and packed then spent the evening on the roof terrace having a few drinks with Laura and Sarah and welsh girl Haf (It means Summer in welsh!)!