Every night for a few months before we left the States, the boy and I would read a children's book about New Zealand.
It was a great little book that told us about the geography of the country, the types of animals we would find here -- Kiwi birds and wild penguins (very exiting for the boy). It described the weather, people and family life, noting how most kids have their own bedrooms. (Also very important to the boy.)
But perhaps most interesting to both of us were the volcanoes. To quote:
"Volcanoes formed the North Island. Some volcanoes there are still active. That means the volcanoes can still push out smoke and lava."
To recap, we're living in a city...on an island...formed by volcanoes...some of which still spew lava. I mean...that's something, right??
Obviously, the active volcanoes are far, far away from the most populous city in the country (phew!). Mounts Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu are located in the center of the North Island, what looks to be about a 4-hour drive from us. But inactive volcanoes can be seen just about everywhere you look in Auckland. In fact, researching it quickly on Wikipedia, I see the area has roughly 50 volcanoes that, with the exception of Rangitoto, a volcanic island off the coast, have erupted for just one short period in their history. And that history is some tens of thousands of years long. (Wowser!)
Many of these sites can now be hiked and explored, and we plan to make the most of them. In fact, we've already checked out one of the most famous: Mount Eden.
At about 600 feet, Mount Eden is the highest volcano in Auckland, and the views from the top are simply spectacular. You can see the. entire. city. Plus, you can gaze down into this giant lush, green bowl of a crater that dips down about 150 feet.
From a parking lot at the base, there's a paved path that goes all the way to the top. Auckland Council, which maintains the park, claims that people in "good fitness" can reach the peak in 10 to 15 minutes. That's probably true. I don't think we were in that category though.
For us, it took a little longer. We chose -- probably poorly -- to scale one of the many dirt trails that wind up the mound. It was a ton of fun climbing these fairly steep paths, but we (especially Shane) did a lot of slipping and sliding along the way.
(Sorry, Shane. I couldn't resist ;)
So if you're aiming to arrive at the top mud-free, you should probably stick to the paved path.
Also of note: It gets windy at the top! There's a huge plateau about halfway up, and when you crest that point, the wind starts howling. It gets colder and windier the higher you go -- but it's totally worth the shivers.
I feel I can't do the scenery justice with words, so I'm going to share some photos from the day and link to the video we made. Needless to say, this adventure got a big thumbs up from the whole crew -- and proved our kids' book right: Volcanoes are awesome!
