A very young island indeed

A view of the 25 square mile (or so) Rangitoto that lies about 7 km into the Pacific from Auckland.  

Rangitoto is now forested but as recently as the 18th century, drawings made then show that it was bare lava from the ocean to the crater rim.  Today it boasts the largest pohutukawa forest in the world, although we also saw lots of manukas too when we took Dianne out there the other day for a tractor-train ride around it.  

Although some articles I've read state that it is as much as 700 years old, our tour guide and tractor driver said that current thinking believes it to be only around 500.  Geologists have been doing some drilling out there lately to investigate the age question.  Maoris were here at the time and saw it rise out of the ocean, but none of them thought to mark the date on the calender.  Apparently some of them died as a result of the birth so I suppose conditions were unpleasant and they had enough on their minds at the time.  

Do you notice that around the central cone the land dips and rises again slightly before descending toward the shores? This is what's called a moat structure and was formed during the eruption when the weight of the growing cone caused the rock beneath it to collapse.  It certainly makes an interesting shape and makes me wonder how much higher the top would have been if it had not collapsed? 

 Here are Dianne and Jeanne making the trek up the 365 steps from the tractor-train road to the top.  The trees that you see in the photo are manuka. 

In the early 1900's a number of people built small cottages on Rangitoto, locally called baches.  (As in 'bachelor.') These early builders were in fact mostly bachelors although as the years went by, the baches changed hands and families came to own some of them.  Here is a shot of a boat ramp leading from one of the baches into the Pacific.

At one time, Rangitoto was overrun by wild cats, rats, stoats (short-tailed weasel), and of all things, Australian possums and wallabies. These animals had all been left on the island at various times or had found their way there as hitchhikers aboard the ships that docked there.  There were so many in fact they were having a detrimental effect on the island's bird population and even the flowering pohutukawa trees. The family who had exclusive rights to honey production on Rangitoto, raised the alarm during the 1970's when their pohutukawa honey production began to decline precipitously year after year.  The pohutukawas were actually being eaten faster than they could regenerate. A major project to completely eliminate ALL pests was started then and as of today has been 100% successful. Can you believe that over 29,000 possums were killed?  Hundreds of traps continue to be set and monitored just in case, but apparently, nothing has been caught for some time. The ferry lines that transport the public to the island take great pains to see that no further contamination occurs.  

 As you can see, Rangitoto does not boast a user friendly coastline. The lava you see is rough enough to scour the skin off a person. The ramp is about 4 feet wide.   

 It's a bit of a climb, even from the road where the tractor/train drops you off, but the view is worth it. The Sky Tower dominates Auckland.

 

                                                                   
                                                                         

Rangitoto is visible from practically anywhere you go around the area.  This is the view from  Brown's Bay Beach. Lots of activity in the harbor today too.  

I will continue to explore Rangitoto.  The next time I go I want to climb it rather than ride the sight-seeing tractor/train and I want to make a side trip to the lava caves. I'll take my camera (and you) along.  (you won't even have to pack a lunch)

-djf