Tree Huggers

Tree Huggers
Waipoua Forest, New Zealand

Waipoua Forest, New Zealand

After Waitomo, we headed north and had a quick pitstop in Mangawhai Heads. Just north of Auckland this lovely beach area would be beautiful in the New Zealand Summer but as it seemed that the NZ summer was on permanent vacation and we were stuck in an eternally cold spring the beaches of the northland were not particularly inviting.

So after a quick overnight stop that required fleece pyjamas, coats and hot water bottles we set off to the Waipoua Forest the home the infamous Tane Mahuta Kauri tree. Translated the name Tane Mahuta in Maori means ‘Lord of the Forest’. According to the Maori creation myth, Tāne is the son of Rangunui the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother. Tāne separates his parents from their marital embrace until his father the sky is high above mother earth. Tāne then sets about clothing his mother with vegetation. The birds and the trees of the forest are regarded as Tāne’s children.

Tāne is the largest kauri tree remaining in NZ, it is estimated that he is between 1250 and 2500 years old, it has a girth of 45 meters and a height of 51 meters. He really is something special.

After a walk through the forest and a break for a coffee the lady at the coffee caravan asked us if we had been to see the other kauri’s. We had completely missed the other entrance and so backtracked to visit Te Matua Ngahere, ‘The Father of the Forest’. Although not as tall as Tane, this tree has a girth of 51 meters and there is huge debate over the age as to whether this tree is from 1200 years old to 4000 years old and could even be the oldest rainforest on earth.

We camped overnight in Rawene and the next day set off to visit Ngawha Springs….