Up relatively early to head for the airport. Took a shuttle there and checked in. Did the wait for the plane dance until it was time to fly. Got to see the mountains in the distance as we flew north on a cool (29 degrees this morning in Christchurch.) bright day. Good flight of about an hour and a half. Arrived in Auckland. Bought the round trip shuttle to the city. Checked into the Base Backpackers hostel into an eight bed dorm. First one in. Before too long a couple of nice German girls checked in as well. Wonder if there is anyone left in Germany as they all seem to be here!
Wandered around the city for a while in search of the Kiwi Experience offices. Found them…but marketing was not in until Monday. Continued to wander around the downtown area. Many Japanese live here. Found a Japanese market and bought some hot sesame oil to replace the exhausted stock. Visited the waterfront and got the ferry schedule for Rangitoto, the volcanic island in the bay which had erupted only 600 years ago. Auckland is situated in an area with some 50 volcanoes.
From the Lonely Planet:
Auckland’s Volcanic Field:
Some cities think they’re tough just by living in the shadow of a volcano. Auckland’s built on 50 of them and, no, they’re not all extinct. The last one to erupt was Rangitoto about 600 years ago and no one can predict when the next eruption will occur. Auckland’s quite literally a hot spot – with a reservoir of magma 100km below, waiting to bubble to the surface. But relax: this has only happened 19 times in the last 20,000 years. Some of Auckland’s volcanoes are cones, some are filled with water and some have been completely quarried away. Moves are afoot to register the field as a World Heritage Site and protect what remains. Most of the surviving cones show evidence of terracing from when they formed a formidable series of Māori pa (fortified villages). The most interesting to explore are Mt Eden, One Tree Hill, North Head and Rangitoto, but Mt Victoria, Mt Wellington (Maungarei), Mt Albert (Owairaka), Mt Roskill (Puketāpapa), Lake Pupuke, Mt Mangere and Mt Hobson (Remuera) are all worth a visit. So Rangitoto it would be.
Early night tonight to be ready for the trip tomorrow.
Adventures with Kevco 