A visit to Rangitoto Island from Auckland »

For most travellers, a trip to New Zealand always starts in the biggest city of the country, Auckland. For some who do have some extra time in the city, it may be a perfect idea to pay a visit to one of the islands located in front of the coastline of Auckland. With an easy ferry ride you can reach these islands. During my recent time in New Zealand, I’ve visited the Rangitoto Island. In this article I’ll tell you more about this volcanic island.
Rangitoto is a young volcanic island; with an existence of only 600 years, it’s the youngest volcano of New Zealand. You can find volcanic grounds everywhere on the island, what makes it a beautiful image.

The ferry ride from the port of Auckland to Rangitoto Island only takes around 25 minutes. Provided by Fullers360, Experiences & Cruises, the ferry goes at three times a day from Auckland. Before you’ll go on board of the ferry, you need to clean your shoes to ensure you don’t bring pests, soil and seeds. Rangitoto Island is a pest-free island, what means there are no rubbish bins on the island. Therefor, you also need to take all your rubbish off the island with you.

If you’ve read the information above, you wouldn’t be surprised if I say there is no restaurant or café on the island. That makes it important to buy your essentials (lunch and enough water) before you’re going to island. If you forget to buy something, your last chance will be on the ferry boat, where there’s a mini café.

When you arrive on the island, you can make a beautiful hike (the Summit Track) to the peak of the volcano, which is around 259 meters above sea level. From the top, you can have some beautiful views over the city centre of Auckland and surrounded islands. During the walk, it can be so quiet that you can hear the beautiful Tui birds and bellbirds singing around the island. It’s a quite easy walk where the paths are even (sometimes also with walk boards) which takes around 2 hours return.

You can also hike two other tracks, namely the Lava Caves Track (which only takes 15 minutes extra from the Summit Track) and the Wilson Park Track (which takes around 45 minutes extra from the Summit Track).

If there are people who aren’t able to hike much, you can book a Volcanic Explorer Tour through Fullers360. After you arrive on the island by ferry, you’re going around the island by 4WD road-train. On the way, the driver tells you all about the history of the island. At one point, the train will stop and from here you will have the chance to walk to the top in only 15 minutes. This short hike is quite easy as well, because there are walk boards everywhere and there are only a few stairs to reach the top. It’s definitely a perfect alternative!

Rangitoto Island is only accessible for a one-day trip, since there are no overnight possibilities. However, for only a 25-minute ferry ride it’s easy to explore the island in one day. You can also reach Rangitoto Island by kayak. This will take around 2 hours.