Rangitoto Summit Walk

WALKING AROUND A VOLCANO

21 AUGUST 2022

You can walk around the base of Rangitoto Island if you aren't keen on walking up to the summit

The Boat Ride Is A Bonus

There's something exciting about being able to catch a boat across to a volcano and spend the day exploring it. Granted, Rangitoto Island is a dormant volcano, but it's still exciting nonetheless!

Rangitoto Island, standing at 850 feet tall, is a 25-minute ferry ride from Auckland City leaving once a day, stopping to pick up passengers at Devonport before heading to the island. You can also head across on your own boat or kayak.

We have been a few times (hence the photos of me with dark hair and Bella as a youngin) as we really enjoy spending time there and the ferry ride is a lot of fun, especially for the kids, so it's a really fun day out!

There are multiple walks on the island so if you're not keen on heading to the summit, there are plenty of flat walks to do. There are walks from as little as 15-minutes up to 2.5 hours. The summit walk takes 1 hour.

Downtown Auckland

Leaving the Auckland waterfront for Rangitoto Island

In Te Reo Maori, Rangitoto means 'bloody sky'

We always pick a nice day to head across to the island so that we get the best views from the summit

Sienna was super excited to be on the ferry!

Ahoy there, me matey!

The bridge to get on and off the ferry

There is a beautiful Māori carving as you enter onto Rangitoto Island

Ancient Lava Fields

The walk to the summit takes around 2 hours to complete, although you'll likely spend time at the summit, recovering from the last haul of stairs and steep track. We usually take a picnic lunch with us to have up there and that helps with hungry kiddies who don't want to walk any further because they're staaaaaaarving.

In summer, it can get super-hot and the Summit Track is mostly exposed plus the sun heats up the ancient lava field around you, which makes the heat even more intense - phew!

There are predator traps all around the island to help keep it pest free to protect the New Zealand's native wildlife living on Rangitoto Island. You might be lucky enough to spot some native birds like the NZ pigeon, fantail, grey warbler, bellbird and parakeet. We've never seen any birds on the island, the forest is still 'young' due to the lava fields containing no soil, so it takes a while for fora and fauna to get growing until they are big enough to support a large bird population.

The track is a mixture of loose gravel, dirt, boardwalks and stairs

You can catch glimpses of the harbour along the way

Every now and then she gets a boost of energy on the stairs

Bella checking out one of the many pest traps on the island

There are huge amounts of scoria on Rangitoto Island

The platform has a view of the top of Rangitoto Island as well as info boards

We didn't have time to explore this area - next time!

View across to Auckland City

The Summit

The summit offers expansive views all over Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf Islands, which is why it's best to head on up on a sunny day, or you might be disappointed at the nothingness/grey clouds. There are plenty of places to take a breather at the summit, although it is lacking in shade on hot days!

There is an old fire command post which you can go inside and look out from which was built to support the Auckland harbour defences and to house American troops or store mines during WWII. The construction on the post started in 1937 but it wasn't operational until 1941. To get the supplies up to the summit, 400m long tramway had to be build to be able to winch the materials up from the road below. The walls and roof are made of concrete that's 20cm thick so it was able to withstand an attack. It was a difficult project and tough to get power and water up to the post, so the decision was made to transfer the post back to North Head in Devonport, only a year after it was completed!

Views from inside the fire command post

You get a decent view from the top

It Probably Won't Erupt

Rangitoto erupted from the depths below around 600 years ago and it hasn't since, so there's a pretty good chance you'll be fine walking around without experiencing an eruption (and what's life without a little risk?).

It's a big enough island that you never feel crammed in (except maybe for up at the summit oh and when you're being herded back onto the ferry) and there's so much to explore and so many tracks to take. Interesting fact, the roads on the island and the track to the summit was built using prison labour from 1925 - 1936.

If you're heading around the base of the island, you may spot some of the old holiday homes (there are 30 on the island) which are of national significance as they are irreplaceable artefacts of NZ's history. They were built between the 1920s and 1930s but their legality was questioned and no more baches were allowed to be built after 1937 and now only 30 remain from the original 140.

We enjoy spending time by the water while we wait for our ferry, it's always such a beautiful colour and we find a place to park our bums and enjoy the views before we have to head back to the mainland.

There are plenty of different tracks to do around the island

Islington Bay, in the southeast area of the island, used to be called Drunks Bay as it was a place used for sobering up drunk crew before they went out of the Hauraki Gulf.

Bach 38 has been restored and turned into a museum (on the left)

There is one ferry to the island every day

Know Before You Go

You can catch the ferry to Rangitoto Island from Devonport or Auckland City
The ferry takes 25-minutes
There are no rubbish bins on the island so remember to bring a plastic bag to take your rubbish home in
There are no shops here and no water available for drinking
There are toilets on the island
Wear good shoes
You can book tickets with Fullers here
There are multiple ferry returns from the island each day

Mappy McMap Face

Getting There

Ya gotta catch a ferry, duh!

You can catch the ferry from Auckland City or Devonport - click here to find out more info and download a map. To get close parking at either terminal, you'll most likely pay for parking. We usually go from Devonport as it's a quieter terminal and easier to get to than the one in Auckland City - we lived closer to Devonport so it also made sense to do it this way!

Conclusion

Rangitoto Island has multiple walking tracks, surrounded by ancient lava fields and native New Zealand bush. It's a peaceful place on the island and you may even spot a few native birds. The ferry ride across to the island is loads of fun for kids (and adults!) and has beautiful views along the way.