Volcanic Island

Finally had the chance to get over to Rangitoto Island, a dormant volcano in the middle of the harbour. The volcano erupted about 600-700 years ago, and left a beautiful almost symmetrical volcanic cone. No people live on the island, and it has developed it's own ecosystem. The rugged terrain is really interesting and it's incredible that trees have been able to grow in this environment.


My friend Julie and I took a hike up Rangitoto last week, it is about an hour to the top, and the view overlooks Auckland and the around the harbour. In the photo below you can see Auckland's Sky tower, on the peninsula in front is the north shore, towns of Takapuna and Devonport and the hill in the middle is Mt. Victoria (another old volcano).







There are also some pretty cool Lava Caves which we took the opportunity to explore.

Clean Windsheilds!

I drove on the wrong side of the road today! Weirdest experience I've had in a while. Old habits die hard, trying to make a turn, with the windsheild wipers going full steam because the signal lever is on the right instead of the left.... hahaha. Thanks to my soccer teammate Lisha for throwing me into the drivers seat!

You really have to pay attention, and there's a weird depth perception thing about looking to the left and seeing that you still have all that car over there!

New Zealand also has a strange driving rule, about "giving way" to the left, so if you are turning left across the traffic you have the right of way. Luckily I did not encounter this during my driving time today, as I am sure I would have caused a mishap!