We hiked Rangitoto!

We did it! We hiked to the summit of Rangitoto, the volcanic island just off the shore of Auckland.

That beautiful, symmetrical mountain that can be seen from just about anywhere in the city? That big, marvelous beast that's been calling to us since we first arrived? We conquered it! We conquered Rangitoto!!

Well...sort of.

We DEFINITELY made it to the top, all 7 of us -- 4 kids and 3 adults. And we were definitely exhausted when we made it back to the bottom. So Rangitoto MAY have conquered us too. :)

But we did it. We hiked Rangitoto...with kids. :)

Our day started early. Our family of four and our good friends (one mum, two kiddos) left the neighborhood about 6:30 am to arrive at the Ferry Building downtown by 7.

Proof we made it on time!

We had booked seats on the first ferry -- a 7:30 am departure -- as a way to save a few bucks per person. This early-bird special turned out to be a smart move for more than just the money savings: It got us up the mountain before the hottest part of the day AND we got to see the sunrise on the boat ride over.

It was a beautiful morning, picture perfect. And we were all giddy-excited about the adventure to come. That feeling only grew as we watched Rangitoto get bigger and bigger the closer we got.

The boat ride took, maybe, 25 minutes -- and then we were there. We were at Rangitoto!

I had a weird feeling walking onto the island, a place we've seen day in and day out for months but that's always been just out of reach. It felt a bit like stepping into a painting or a theater backdrop, a place that only exists in two dimensions. Yet here we were, walking on the rocky paths toward the summit trail.

The island actually has more "stuff" on it than I realized. There's a help desk for visitors, staffed by a park ranger; a few remaining baches from the days when folks were allowed to have holiday homes here. There's a bathroom, which is always important to us. :)

But once the hike starts uphill, signs of civilization fade away. The trail itself is fairly steep for most of the 3.5 kilometers and covered with gravel-sized chunks of dark-black lava rock. It's pretty easy to lose your footing and slip on the rocks, so you learn to step carefully.

Experts say the hike up should take about an hour, but that proved to be an ambitious estimate with kids. We took about 2 hours to get to the top with lots of breaks -- snack breaks, lunch breaks, piggyback breaks.

And we also took a side track about 15 minutes from the summit to explore the lava caves.

The lava caves were, by far, the best part of the trip. We discovered three caves of varying sizes, one of which started out just a few feet wide then grew to standing room before shrinking again to a hole the size of a tree trunk.

The four kids and I were the first to check this guy out. I'm not terribly fond of tight spaces, so crawling into a, say, 2-foot wide cave was quite scary to me. But after navigating the narrow opening, the space opened up and we could easily stand upright, seeing -- with the help of the cellphone flashlight -- the rock walls above and below us. We wiggled our way through and helped push each other up and out the narrow hole at the exit. It was super fun, and felt a bit like an Indiana Jones adventure.

All 7 of us went through the cave at least once, and the kids crawled through 5 or 6 times. Then, we were off again, bound and determined to reach the summit.

At this point in the climb, the trail got significantly steeper and, eventually, the path turned to steps. Little legs were tired and big legs even more tired as we climbed the seemingly endless stairway to the top. Somehow, the kids tapped into a burst of energy and ran ahead, reporting back on how many steps remained and what they could see.

Finally, we all crested the crater to amazing views of the Auckland harbor in all directions.

At the top, we had a nice long lunch break. Three of the kids continued running around and climbing anything they could climb. (The oldest kid was sensible enough to bring his book and just quietly read and rest :)

We spent about 45 minutes enjoying our perch on top of the world before setting off again.

The walk back down the mountain was somehow just as tiring as the climb up. It took some effort to keep from slipping and sliding on those loose lava rocks, and our old-person knees were not always happy. I ended up carrying the Adorable Boy for a good portion of the trip down, and our group made it to the bottom with about 20 minutes to spare until the next ferry arrived.

We boarded this much bigger, much more crowded boat at 12:45 pm, more than 4 hours after we had arrived on the island. To celebrate and congratulate the kids on a hike well done, Shane bought a round of Coca-Colas ($3 a pop), and we put our feet up for the short ride back to Auckland.

Oh it was such a fun day!! It was one of my favorite adventures to date, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Though the hike was quite a challenge for the kids, they did great and were so proud of themselves for what they accomplished.

Now whenever we look out our window and across the harbor to Rangitoto we can say with pride, "I hiked that volcano. NBD." ;)

#Rangitoto #hiking #hikewithkids