Travelogue

Mangere MountainAfter the Muriwai Grotto, we drove back to Auckland and dropped off the motorhome. Everything checked out perfectly - no damage of any sort, and they thanked Herb for rather creatively dealing with the problem of the gray water pipe bracket coming loose.

When we mentioned that we were looking for something to do from our airport hotel, he asked if we had been to the Mangere Volcano. A volcano in Auckland?

Well, yes. It turns out that Auckland, with its 53 distinct volcanic centers, has more volcanoes than any other city in the world, although the numerous ones in cities like Naples and Mexico City are much larger and more active.

Hiking to the summitSo after being dropped off at our airport hotel, we set off through the suburban streets of Mangere to climb Mount Mangere, a dormant scoria cone volcano, part of Auckland's volcanic field, formed around 18,000 years ago.

When we got to where Google Maps told us that we were at the base of the Mangere Crater hike, I was surprised to see that it was a grassy hill. In fact, I think we had seen this hill on our first hike in Auckland two weeks ago, but never thought it was a volcano.

The walk began on a wide gravel path that gradually climbs up the hill. To reach the highest point, we climbed a series of 160 stone and wooden stairs, with views along the way of the Auckland city skyline, the Sky Tower, and Manukau Harbor.

From the summitFrom the summit, we could see the walls of the crater. The crater and heavily terraced slopes were once home to thousands of the Tupuna Maunga tribe. It was the site of one of the largest and most strategic pā (fortified settlements) on the Auckland isthmus, and of deep cultural significance to the local Māori.

We didn’t notice at the time, but later learned that there are hundreds of small rectangular depressions in the grass along the crater rim. These were used to store kūmara (sweet potato) and other crops grown in the fertile volcanic soil.

The way downFrom there we went down the other side of the mountain, this time with views of the lovely Mangere suburbs.

Rather than hike back through the suburbs, when we got to the bottom we took an Uber back to the hotel

That evening, we returned to the Post Office Public House for a delicious Lamb Shank dinner.