Rangitoto Island

  Yesterday we took a twenty-five minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland to a remote island called Rangitoto.  As the ferry pulled away into the harbor, the Auckland skyline grew smaller and smaller on the horizon.  We passed a few smaller islands as we neared our destination.  The rocky faces of Rangitoto shone black through the hazy afternoon sun. This island is covered in volcanic rock; the last eruption was around 600 years-ago.  After a short one hour hike, we reached the summit which offered 360 degree views of the Auckland Harbor.  The sky tower poked up through the clouds.  For the past week I have been hearing things about how Auckland is the best city--if you travel thirty minutes in any direction from downtown, you can reach countryside.  I didn't really understand how amazing that really is until yesterday when I stood atop the summit. After a few hours, we jumped back on the ferry and headed back to the city.  It was a very strange sensation to go from such isolation to the hustle and bustle of the city in such a short amount of time.  A completely different world stood a mere ferry ride away.