Going For A Walk: Coastal Track, Rangitoto Island {Or Really, A Small Dog In Your Handbag?}

If you're only going to go to one island in the Hauraki Gulf, you might want to pick Rangitoto. It is a volcanic island which last erupted around 600 years ago. You can hike up to top of the volcano and enjoy some incredible vistas of Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf from the boardwalk on the summit. It is a very popular outing with tourists with regular ferry service from Auckland. While most people climb straight up to the top, there are a number of other nice walks on the island. One of my favorites is the coastal track from the Rangitoto Wharf to Islington Bay Wharf. (You can find a map of Rangitoto's walking tracks at the Fuller's ferry site.) The signs will tell you that it takes around 2 hours one way depending upon how quickly you walk and how many pictures you stop to take. We took a few and here they are.



If you go to Rangitoto, be sure to wear sensible shoes like sneakers or hiking boots. Jandals/flip-flops aren't really going to cut it when you're climbing up the side of a volcano and, for goodness sake, don't wear high heels. I've actually seen more than one person wearing cute little shoes with heels. Clearly they didn't read a guidebook or any information about the island before getting on the ferry. These girls always seem so surprised when they end up sliding on the scree and end up on their bums. They also seem to have way too much make-up on for tramping and often some sort of small dog hidden in their handbag.



This is what I'm talking about - hard to walk on with jandals/flip-flops. So wear the appropriate footwear. And put a sweater on, its cold outside. It's official - I am now channeling my mother.

 

Imagine pushing your baby in the stroller across the rocky path while wearing cute little strappy shoes. You have two choices - abandon the baby or abandon the stroller. This family made the right choice.

 

Not to worry - you don't have to walk across lava fields or scree the entire time. The path meanders through woods at times which makes a nice contrast.

 

Sorry, spoke too soon. Back to walking across scree.

Change of scenery again. This time it is mangroves.

If you didn't bring enough eggs for your breakfast burritos, you could try grabbing one from one of the traps set up around the island to keep the population of unwanted pests down.

Near to Rangitoto Wharf, you can see some of the old baches (holiday homes) on the island. They're trying to get rid of them and I think they're not renewing any of the leases once the current owner passes away. I think everyone is doing their best to make sure grandma and grandpa stay healthy so that the rest of the family can enjoy the bach for as long as possible. Getting rid of the historic baches is a bit of a contentious issue.

The views back to the Auckland skyline make you realize how close Rangitoto is to city center.

And finally the Rangitoto Wharf where the walk ends or starts depending upon which way you went.