North of Auckland in the Hauraki Gulf is Rangitoto Island. It is a 600 year old dead volcano only accessible by boat. There is a regular ferry that runs there a few times a day to pack tourists over. You all know how much we love tourist attractions, but it is one of the boxes that has to be checked when visiting Auckland. The Ferry Building in downtown Auckland: 
Down town Auckland in the rear view mirror: 
Avast ye matey, Rangitoto Island 
During WWII there was a network of gun emplacements along the "mainland" coast and on Rangitoto Island. At the top of the volcano cone in the distance (we hiked up there) there is the remains of a reinforced concrete bunker of sorts. With a 360 degree view it served as a lookout post and Fire Command center. Attached by a causeway is neighboring Motutapu Island. There was a significant military installation on both islands that served mainly as a mine (as in blow up ships mines) depot and maintenance facility. The waters in the vicinity of Auckland were heavily mined. One of the "on this site there was a.." signs at the lookout said that there had been 100,000 US servicemen stationed here, but that must have been a typo (we've seen lots of signs on displays here that obviously had not been proof read).
Down town Auckland in the rear view mirror: 
Avast ye matey, Rangitoto Island 
During WWII there was a network of gun emplacements along the "mainland" coast and on Rangitoto Island. At the top of the volcano cone in the distance (we hiked up there) there is the remains of a reinforced concrete bunker of sorts. With a 360 degree view it served as a lookout post and Fire Command center. Attached by a causeway is neighboring Motutapu Island. There was a significant military installation on both islands that served mainly as a mine (as in blow up ships mines) depot and maintenance facility. The waters in the vicinity of Auckland were heavily mined. One of the "on this site there was a.." signs at the lookout said that there had been 100,000 US servicemen stationed here, but that must have been a typo (we've seen lots of signs on displays here that obviously had not been proof read). 
Hard work for Buddha-boy:
"Bach (pronounced batch, short for bachelor) Culture During the 1920s - 1930s it was popular to squat on a chunk of beach and build a "bach". These were very crude cabins meant for men to get away from wives, I guess. They were charged $1 a year by the gov'ment. There are several on Rangitoto. At one time the daisy-sniffers questioned the legality of these and got the gov'ment to tear down over 100. The remaining owners banded together and went to court, arguing that these are an important part of NZ culture and should be preserved as "historic sites". They were successful, but they can not be sold, and when the owner croaks, his unit gets torn down. Some examples:
Sign in a bach window:
Total trip cost to date: $9,199.22 USD
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