Farewell to Islands (nearly) in the Sun
City of Auckland from Summit Hello, Monday, January 3rd You never know who you’ll meet on a bench at the wharf in Auckland while waiting for a ferry bound for Rangatoto. This is an island some thirty minutes by water from the city. It is one of forty-eight volcanoes, albeit dormant, in Auckland—certainly while we were visiting. Now why would one build a city in such a dangerous environment? One could re-phrase the question. Why would one build cities along and close to the San Andreas Fault in California? As usual, questions we have—we’re short on answers. For our last day in New Zealand, we hiked to the summit of the volcano cone. The views of the bay and the city are splendid. The water appears to be turquoise, with streaks of dark blue. The island, covered with volcanic rock and many trees, is uninhabited. The blue sky, azure water, black rock and greenery of the trees and vegetation combine to form a very pretty picture. (The sun has returned.) On way to Cone Summit The author...