Photos

RANGITOTO
which in Maori means:
‘TE RANGI I TOTONGIA A TAMATEKAPUA – THE DAY THE BLOOD OF TAMATEKAPUA WAS SHED’

This photo was taken at a sculpture exhibition at Devonport. The property had over 100 sculptures placed over the property which had this wonderful view of the Hauraki Gulf with Rangitoto Island in the distance.

Rangitoto, the largest and youngest of Auckland’s volcanoes, emerged from the sea around 600 years ago in a series of fiery volcanic explosions. Imagine it: fire and steam started erupting from the sea on 8 km northeast of where the city of Auckland now is. Further eruptions sent red-hot lava flows down the sides of the volcano forming the black basaltic rock that now makes up much of the island.

The birth of Rangitoto Island took about 200 years from the beginning to the end (there is a debate about this). When it was over, layer of layer of LAVA had built Rangitoto’s symmetrical cone. It was an island of bare jagged rock.

It is now considered a dead volcano – I do hope so!