Rangitoto, we're not in Kansas anymore

First of all, I would like to apologize for that incredibly cheesey post title, but hey, you know me: I love the puns.

Today my only mission was to explore Rangitoto island, one of the larger islands off the East coast of Auckland. It is basically an extinct volcano that has since been overtaken by lush forests. I plan on posting some pictures, but I don't have them with me now, so here is one that I pilfered from another website:

By the way, a fat guy at this internet cafe just leaned back in his chair a little to far and absolutely shattered the wheeled base. Just thought you would like to know.

ANYWHO, the hike to the summit took about an hour, which gave me plenty of time to take in the views and breathe in the air. It was good to take a relaxed pace, since the entire island was covered with golfball-sized volcanic rocks that made it pretty hard to get a good footing. However, my leisurely tempo nearly got me stranded when, as I was checking out some volcanically-formed caves, I suddenly realized that the ferry was set to leave in 30 minutes and I was only a few minutes down from the summit. So I turned tail and booked down to the wharf just in time to catch the ferry. I was awful lucky that I didn't take a spill, because I'm sure that that volcanic rock could do some serious damage.

Well, after all that excitement, I think tomorrow will be more of an off day, all though I am going to try to buy a car in the evening. We'll see how that goes.