Mt Maunganui - it's one of those easy-access New Zealand bucket-list volcanoes. So being in Tauranga over the weekend, it was a must to climb to the 232m high summit. Also known as Mauao or affectionately as The Mount, this volcano, which marks the entrance to Tauranga Harbour, is ancient and now extinct. Mauao means … Continue reading Volcano number 29 – Mt Maunganui
#40by40
Volcano number 28 – Rarotonga
When your tour guide gets out of the car in the middle of nowhere holding a machete there are several thoughts likely to flit across your mind. For me, it was: S*&! is this guy going to murder us?? AND Jeepers creepers, this hike might be wild and hard core. Thankfully, the latter thought was … Continue reading Volcano number 28 – Rarotonga
Volcano number 26 – Helvellyn
Helvellyn – It’s a mountain (and a volcano) I’ve wanted to climb for years. One of those illusive ones that I could have done a number of times but just never got round to. That was, until earlier this month, when my fiancé and I made our way up to England’s Lake District for a … Continue reading Volcano number 26 – Helvellyn
Volcano number 25 – the Giant’s volcano
Ok, so it’s not a volcanic mountain per se, but the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland is still volcanic in nature, being the result of an ancient volcanic fissure. And it’s pretty fricken cool. As we were in Northern Ireland as part of our sail around Great Britain, and it was just around the corner … Continue reading Volcano number 25 – the Giant’s volcano
Volcano number 23: The private volcano
April 2020 was spent in a yellow motel room in the small tourist town Te Anau in New Zealand. That first Covid lockdown put paid to my #WalkNZ adventure – just seven days from the finish line in Bluff. Once things opened up in New Zealand, and the rest of the world was still on … Continue reading Volcano number 23: The private volcano
Volcanoes 18, 19 and 20: The Auckland volcanoes
So far, #WalkNZ has been a solo journey – but it was always meant to be. Last week I was asked if I was bored of walking by myself. An interesting question. I said no – I’ve met many people along the Te Araroa trail and, for the most part, I’ve spent each night with … Continue reading Volcanoes 18, 19 and 20: The Auckland volcanoes
Volcano number 17: The easy-yet-hard volcano
I regretted it the moment the hill started to steepen. It was already hot and muggy, and within minutes of climbing through tropical rainforest to the crater lake lookout, I felt like I was slowly being steamed alive. Today was supposed to be the easy walk. A nice and gentle three-hour stroll around Lagoa das … Continue reading Volcano number 17: The easy-yet-hard volcano
Volcano number 16: The sublime crater lake volcano
The Yellow Bus’ door closed and it accelerated off before I could figure out if that was the stop I needed. I looked at the brochure and my map amid high-speed twists and turns. Yeah, I probably should have got off at that stop, I realised. Oh well, final stop it was then – the … Continue reading Volcano number 16: The sublime crater lake volcano
Volcano number 15: The not-what-it-was-supposed-to-be volcano
“I guess I should be grateful that I’m actually on my way to see a volcano,” I thought as the ‘Yellow Bus’ hurtled through the Azorean countryside, passing fields of maize and languid dairy cows. It had almost been a no-volcano day after a caffeine-deficient, panic-fuelled morning. I’d arrived in the Azores – the volcanic … Continue reading Volcano number 15: The not-what-it-was-supposed-to-be volcano
Volcanoes number 13 and 14: The train strike volcanoes
It had been an awesome three days in the Auvergne region in France walking a section of the GR400 route and climbing volcanoes. In three days we had hoped to climb four volcanic peaks as part of my #40by40 quest to climb 40 volcanoes by the age of 40 but we’d only been able to … Continue reading Volcanoes number 13 and 14: The train strike volcanoes