28th Birthday Week

October 2020

In October, we were finally out of lockdown and could go travelling a bit more. On my birthday we popped over to Rangitoto Island and hiked up it with a picnic. I hadn't been to Rangitoto as an adult, so it was nice to see another bit of New Zealand. 

For those less familiar, Rangitoto - the volcano that dominates Auckland's skyline, is the city's largest and youngest dormant volcano (probably not the safest mix when I think about it). Rangitoto Island formed in an eruption just 600 years ago, the name comes from Maori, meaning 'bloody sky'. With the eruption being recent, as these things go, it's interesting to note that the eruption remains in local Maori historical memory, and footprints have been found between volcanic ash layers.

The black lava fields that surround you on the hike to the summit make the eruption appear recent, and turns the landscape alien. It's hard going as the loose scoria is jarring on your ankles, and the black rocks soak in the sunlight, creating an incredibly hot environment for hiking. The most direct route takes about an hour each way to the summit, passing lava caves along the way (which need a torch to venture into). Views from the top are pretty stunning, and also make for an excellent lunch spot. Did you know the track to the summit and roads on the island were all built by prison labour in the 20s and 30s? I thought this was an interesting fact.

Although I had my birthday off, it fell midweek so aside from the day trip we kept it low key. At the weekend however, we planned a road trip down south. 

We started with the Wiatomo caves in the mighty Waikato region. The tour included a beautiful boat ride through the cavern, looking up above at the ceilings covered in glow worms and was just stunning.

 

Our next stop was the great Redwood Forest by Rotorua, where we paid for the treetop walk. This was a really cool experience seeing the forest from a different perspective, and the ticket also allowed us to come back a second time at night.

We took advantage of this, as the trees were lit up in interesting ways at night, and provided a quite different experience. Overall, I preferred the forest walk at night, as it was totally unique (and had fewer children). 

After a full on Saturday, we slept well in a little caravan on the outskirts of Rotorua. The next day, we drove to Mount Manganui, as it was yet another place I had never been (I know, I call myself a kiwi!?). A summertime resort town, and for good reason, Mount Manganui is absolutely gorgeous. Even though it was October, the sun was shining in full force, and it was absolutely heaving with tourists. 

You know NZ is small when you run into two different sets of friends within the first hour of arriving, all of whom live in Auckland! Tired out from socializing and driving, we stopped off at Rice Rice Baby, a Vietnamese restaurant, for a spot of lunch.

Happily satiated on Bahn Mi (an epic sandwich which I highly recommend you try as soon as possible if you haven't already) we headed slightly out of town to escape the crowds, and stopped in at The Rising Tide, a brewery. We shared a tasting paddle of interesting beers, and chilled out for a while.

Feeling sufficiently recovered, we headed back into town for a sunset beach walk, followed by dinner. The crowds had thinned by now, and the experience was much more pleasant.

We had dinner on the waterfront, enjoying the last of the sunset at a lovely placed called Dixie Browns, where we shared an excellent prawn starter, followed by delicious steaks. It was a lovely birthday dinner courtesy of dad (thanks dad, best birthday present!) and felt like such a treat.

The next morning we got up bright and early to conquer the mount. Mount Manganui is perhaps best known for its walk up the mount, with incredible views. But largely unshaded, its a hell of a climb.

 It only takes about forty minutes to an hour, but its incredibly steep and hot and we were both dripping and dead by the end of it. 

If it had been slightly later in the year, I would have most certainly swum after the descent. But look at those views! So worth it, especially early morning before the full sun hit. What a weekend!

The birthday treats weren't quite over yet though, as the next weekend one of my best friend's Shyla took me away for a night to a little bach. We went to the Auckland Botanic Gardens for a high tea picnic (and with over 64 hectares of garden to explore for free, its really worth the trip!)

Followed by what I class as one of my favourite pictures of me because it's hilarious. My mouth full of cheese, with an epic fondue spread in front of me, complete with rules on what to do if one drops the bread in (no nearby lakes to go jump in sadly).

 I felt incredibly lucky, and whilst ok, you can't really beat that I was in Corfu the year before, I certainly felt spoiled by my friends and family for my 28th birthday.