Everything about Rangitoto Island totally explained
Rangitoto Island is a
volcanic island in the
Hauraki Gulf near
Auckland,
New Zealand. It is separated from the mainland of Auckland's
North Shore by the
Rangitoto Channel. Rangitoto is an iconic landmark of Auckland as its distinctive symmetrical 260 metre (850 feet) high
shield volcano cone is visible from much of the city. It is the most recent and the largest (2311
hectares) of the approximately 48 volcanoes of the
Auckland Volcanic Field.
Rangitoto is
Māori for 'Bloody Sky', with the name coming from the full phrase
Nga Rangi-i-totongia-a Tama-te-kapua ('The days of the bleeding of Tama-te-kapua'). Tama-te-kapua was the captain of the
Arawa waka (canoe) and was badly wounded on the island, at a (lost) battle with the
Tainui iwi at Islington Bay.
The volcano isn't expected to become active again, although future eruptions are likely (spoken in geological timespans) elsewhere in the wider area of the field. Subsiding matter during the cooling process has left a moat-like ring around the crater summit, which may be viewed from a path which goes right round the rim and up to the highest point.
The island is considered especially significant because all stages from raw lava fields to
scrub establishment and sparse forests are visible. In some parts of the island, fields of lightweight,
clinker-like black
lava stones are still exposed, appearing very recent to a casual eye. Visitors walk through the lava fields and may also walk through some of about seven known
lava caves - tubes left behind after the passage of liquid lava. The more accessible of the caves are signposted. The island is linked by a natural
causeway to the much older, non-volcanic island of
Motutapu, where it's possible to view the remains of
Māori habitation caught in Rangitoto's eruption paths.
A number of Māori myths exist surrounding the island, including that of a
Tupua couple, children of the Fire Gods. After quarreling and cursing
Mahuika, the fire-goddess, their home on the mainland was destroyed by
Mataoho, god of earthquakes and eruptions on Mahuika's behalf.
Lake Pupuke in
North Shore City was created in the destruction, while Rangitoto rose from the sea. The mists surrounding Rangitoto at certain times are considered the tears of the Tupua couple for their former home.
Starting in the first half of the 20th century, small holiday houses began being built around the island's edge. However, most have been removed since the legality of their existence was doubtful right from their start in the 1930s (the building of additional houses was stopped in 1937), and because the island has now become a scenic reserve. Some of the 140 of these
baches are being preserved to show how the island used to be, once boasting a permanent community of several hundred people, including a good number of children. The buildings included some more permanent structures like a seawater pool built of quarried stones by convict labour, located close to the current ferry quay.
There are now daily
ferry trips to the island from Auckland but overnight stays are not generally possible, though a
campsite exists.
Nature
There are virtually no streams on the island so plants rely on
rainfall for moisture. It has the largest forest of
pōhutukawa trees in the world, As the area is a
DOC-administered reserve (in partnership with the
Tangata Whenua Ngāi Tai and
Ngāti Paoa)
, visitors may not take dogs or other animals onto the islands.
[Further Information]
Get more info on 'Rangitoto Island'.
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