Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand

March 27, 2024

Orakei Basin is a large explosion crater that erupted on the side of Purewa Creek that runs into Hobson Bay. In the 1920s, an embankment was built for a railway line that cut off the crater from the creek. The embankment created a shallow, artificial saltwater lake with control gates under the railway line. These gates are opened twice a month during spring high tides to flush out the nutrient-rich brackish water and replace it with sea water. There is beautiful walk way that extends right around the circumference of the basin.

After walking around the basin, we made our way up and around the rim of the basin and over to another nearby volcano, Litttle Rangitoto. Here is the view down into the basin.

Because this is Auckland, with a cafe on every corner, we didn’t have any trouble finding a spot for a rest and a couple of coffees.

We are not sure how Little Rangitoto got its name. The Māoris called it Maungarahiri, meaning ‘hill of the sun rays’. If it was originally named Little Rangitoto because of its resemblance to its much larger and more famous namesake, it no longer holds true because the volcano was quarried away in the first half of the 1900s. What remains is a pretty neighborhood park.