Auckland is in the middle of a volcanic field, with volcanoes in the city and on the North Island and many more off to the east in the Waitemata Harbour. The youngest and largest volcano erupted about 600 years ago, forming Rangitoto, an island with nice views of the city and fun lava caves to explore. The cruise out through the harbour took about 30 minutes. We passed one of the multiple cruise ships docking overnight, the two shipping docks, where cargo ships can be turned around in 18 hours, and the old Bean Rock Lighthouse built in the 1870′s.
           

Once arriving, we hiked up the hardened lava trails to the summit, where we were rewarded with nice views of the harbour and city.
     

The NZ Department of Conservation implemented a program to remove all foreign animals originally brought onto Rangitoto and it is now considered a pest-free island. Vegetation has brought many birds though, including the ones we spotted below. We were a little early in the season, but by mid-spring the whole island is said to look like a big fireball from a distance due to the bright red flowering pohutukawa trees that populate the island.

Oystercatcher

Tui

Chaffinch

Another chaffinch

Flowering pohutukawa

On the way down from the summit, we took a short detour through the lava caves, making good use of our head lamps.