Rangitoto island, Auckland, New Zealand

As part of our August 2011 trip to New Zealand we spent a few hours on Rangitoto Island off Auckland. It's a half hour ferry ride to the island and it offers great views of the city if you hike to the top of the volcano remnants.

The day we went was rainy and the ferry ride was very bumpy. When we arrived, and hiked to the top, the wind and rain picked up. Near the top we joined crowds of others huddling from the rain in a shelter. As the rain cleared a little we headed out to get photos of the city in the distance.

After the hike to the top we decided to check out the lava caves. At first I was a little scared to go in, but the voices of some children in the caves reassured me there was nothing to worry about. The caves were very interesting and we explored a few of them before heading back to the ferry.