Galley Essentials with Amanda


Breakfast Crew – Lisa, Mark, Kathy, Joe, Amanda, Christine and Allan.


Rangitoto Island is as


iconic to Auckland as Angel Island is to San Francisco and makes a perfect final anchorage of a coastal New Zealand passage before entering the grips of bustling Auckland City. Our expedition leg


down from Fiji last year featured excellent sailing conditions that provided a great platform for intense learning for our crew. For the last hurrah I wanted to show them something magical from my home stomping grounds so chose a sheltered anchorage at the foot of Rangi’s eastern slopes called Islington Bay, known by us Kiwi’s as Izzy Bay. Rangi was designated a public


domain in 1890 and became a popular destination for picnickers arriving by ferry. During the ‘20s and ‘30s prisoners built hand-paved roads and trails, some of which are still in use, and constructed the stone walls around the landings and old swimming pool. To help pay for the island developments bach (holiday cabin) sites we leased and by 1937 the number of baches in the three settlements totaled 140. The bach families formed a close-knit community with dances and film evenings in the Stone Hall, tennis tournaments and fishing contests that continued through many generations. However, since 1937 opposition


arose over the existence of the baches on public land and leases were only renewed for twenty years. In 1956 the leases were extended for the lifetime of the current lease holder but no sales, transfers, new baches or modifications to existing baches were permitted. Hence the baches stood as if time stopped. A realization came in the 1980’s that they were the last of their kind in the country, and the families of the Rangi bach


into the black basaltic rock which makes up 95 percent of this roughly circular three miles across island. Bare lava fields, caves, pillars, tunnels and a variety of lava flows are all features of the island's eruptive history. The Maori people


previously used the island as a reserve for kaka; New Zealand’s native parrot. In the 1800’s possums and wallabies had been


Rangi Ramble by Amanda Swan Neal


community were permitted to establish a Historic Conservation Trust to preserve a unique treasure. Upon anchoring we went for an evening wander along the sandy track that winds around the foreshore, peering in the windows and back gardens of some of the remaining 34 baches. No one was at home, but if you listened carefully you could hear the generations of blokes telling fish stories around the barbeque as the kids played on the tree swings and the ladies chopped up a fresh fruit salad. John and I pondered what would


make a strong finale to the expedition and hatched the idea of crew hike; 1.5 hours to Rangi’s summit crater for breakfast. We had a 6:00 am wake-up call and everyone split up the breakfast goodies to carry to the top. The weather, which had been a little misty, cooperated with a brilliant, sunny, windless morning. Hiking Rangi is like stepping onto another planet. 600 years ago a series of fiery volcanic eruptions created Rangi’s classic 800’ cone-shaped profile. When the red-hot lava flowed down the volcano it formed


introduced and by the 1980’s they were threatening to destroy Rangi’s rare pohutukawa forest. In efforts to encourage native forest growth and bird life, the Department of Conservation has nearly completed 20 years of intensive pest eradication programs along with efforts to control invasive weeds. During our scenic nature hike we


all chatted about our past and future adventures. Somehow, we girls got onto the subject of food (probably because they could hear my grumbling tummy) and they promised to send me their all- time favorite recipes. Upon reaching the summit, the view of Auckland and surrounding Waitemata Harbour was awesome; a fitting reward to a morning’s ramble.


Kathy’s Mexican Caviar


½ cup vegetable oil ¼ cup red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon salt


2 cans black beans - drained & rinsed 2 cans Green Giant Mexicorn - drained (see recipe next page) 10 cherry tomatoes quartered or cut into eighths


½ cup chopped green onions 2 avocados - chopped Whisk together oil, vinegar and salt in the bowl from which you will be


48° NORTH, MONTH 2008 PAGE 39


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