Date: February 27, 2015
Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley
Distance: ?
Elevation:259m
Time: 5 hours, including trip to McKenzie Bay, and Yankee Wharf
Notes: We met up at our usual 8.15am outside E's and were able to take a car and park it in the central city, thinking we had plenty of time to catch the 9.15 ferry. Err, no. The heavy morning traffic meant we arrived in town about 8.50 and had a bit of a dash to boot-up and get to the Ferry Building. Once there, one of our party displayed an extraordinary ability (unknown prior to this trip) of slipping to the front of any queue and quietly finding the best seats on the boat. A trick she repeated on the way back! Talk about missing her calling as a Silent Assassin. Another perfect Friday (I would like to see some stats on Friday's weather), calm sea, and a great view of the Queen Elizabeth passenger liner parked up at the quay as we sailed off across the harbour. There were are least two school groups on board, but given the Silent Assassin's skills, I had no doubt that we would be off and up that hill before any of them so much as shouted for a hair-straightener. And so we were. The kidney fern glen was more of a failed dialysis experiment, with the hot weather having fried them crispy. On to McKenzie Bay, where we briefly considered a swim, but ate morning tea instead. A moored yacht and then a clutch of kayakers entering the bay had us back on our feet and into the dust and heat. It was HOT. We walked mainly on the road, which is not much fun. Before the summit is reached there is a long stretch of boardwalk steps, with a fantastic view from about halfway of Waiheke, Great Barrier, Little Barrier etc. Arriving at the summit, we found almost half of Auckland's schoolchildren sitting there eating their apples and sandwiches, so we did a circuit, took some panoramas of the AMAZING city and island scape at the top, and decided to leg it back down to the other side of the Island. At this stage we became aware of a little gathering cloud. We almost had one of our famous wrong turns, after enjoying a beautiful stretch of 'forest', but managed to self-correct in time to head in the direction of Islington Bay on yet another dusty, hot road. As we sat at Yankee Wharf watching a car ferry board passengers and then leave, the gathering clouds became even darker, and a strange rumbling was heard. A plane? Thunder? We ate our lunch, decided we would not be in time for the 2.30 ferry, and set off past the barrier (what was that for?) along the scoria track. The clouds darkened, and the thunder became persistent. A few drops fell. Raincoats were unrolled. A gentle shower of rain fell. We could see that the clouds meant business somewhere, but not here. Anna's notes suggested that there would be a half hour of scoria track and an hour in the 'forest'. On we went over the scoria, passing the lava fields. We saw a saddleback and a parrot, but 'forest' was a stretch. Part of the track must be slightly under water at high tide (luckily avoided), and the 'swimming pool' had water in it, although was not very tempting. We walked past the remaining old baches which are totally charming, and back to the 'tourist shelter' (which is huge), and the wharf. Elizabeth had a chat with an Iwi member who gave her all the goss on Rangitoto, and we split a celebratory beer on board the ferry home after the SA found us primo seats. An interesting trip, with stunning views at the top, but best attempted in cooler weather. And there had been a deluge of Biblical proportions in Auckland. A few wet Jafas.
*Forgot to mention the poppies! More info here. We each popped on a poppy.
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| Queen Elizabeth |
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| Silent Assassin and friend |
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| Crater behind the 2 lovelies |
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| Spot the Harbour Bridge |
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| Yankee Wharf |
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| Swimming Pool |
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| Browns Island |
