Auckland Volcanoes

One of the recent unit studies we’ve done is on the volcanoes of Auckland. Actually, the study itself was probably over a year ago, but we decided as part of that to attempt to visit as many of the volcanoes around Auckland as possible. It made for a good challenge and gave our family a handy list of places to explore on the weekends!

We found this really interesting book in the library called “Volcanoes of Auckland: A Field Guide“* by Bruce W. Hayward and Alastair Jamieson (photos). After several renewals we actually ended up purchasing it, because it’s something we will keep coming back to. It talks not only of the volcanoes but also of the various lava caves around the region and includes a lot of history. The pictures are fascinating because they show how the volcanoes looked in the past and how many of them have changed due to quarrying or building developments.

One of our exploration highlights so far has been Mangere Mountain, because we had never been there before and had completely underestimated its size and beauty. Even those volcanoes that have been a little underwhelming in both these respects have been interesting to explore for other reasons. For example, there was one we visited in Wiri that we had always been curious about visiting after driving past so many times.

We still haven’t made it to all of the volcanoes (after all, there are 53 of them!) but it’s a fun ongoing project to have. Also, some of them aren’t actually accessible or in existence any longer – eg. Mt Smart has the stadium built on it! Nevertheless we’ve found it a great way to explore more of our city and enjoy the beautiful scenery at many of the sites. Plus it’s free and it it’s a good way to get some exercise!

*Please note this is an affiliate link