The Kauri Forest

Snells Beach, Auckland, New Zealand
Sunday, November 10, 2013

Sunday 10 November

My wish has come true! A relatively quiet and uneventful day to report. We left The Bay of Islands with regret this am and travelled across to the West coast which is completely different to the East; wilder and more rugged and so sparsely populated, it has to be seen to be believed. We stopped for coffee at a lovely cafe in the middle of nowhere, with a panoramic view of the coast, to die for. You can view the Hokianga river and estuary where rollers from the Tasman Sea break violently over the top of the river, almost like a permanent bore. At the mouth of the river has formed an enormous dune, at a guess probably 4/500ft high. I've never seen anything quite like it.
Our journey then took us on a southerly route following the coast initially and gradually moving inland to the Waipoua Forest. Here is the last refuge of the magnificent Kauri tree, a giant of a fir native to New Zealand. Ninety percent of the Northland was once covered in this fabulous dense temperate forest, encompassing not only Kauri, but all types of ferns including tree ferns, vines, mosses, and other lush foliages I cannot name. It is a most attractive forest to walk through and I will try to upload some pictures to give an idea. Gradually it was eroded by logging, as the kauri is so hard and tall and straight it was perfect for ships masts in the 1800s. The Maori hollowed out the trunks for their wakas (war canoes) and big business built around the Kauri, until in the nick of time, the government was persuaded to buy up what was left (very little) and save them for the nation. We visited the largest Kauri in existence which is called Tane Mahuta and is thought to have been in existence for about 2000 yrs. Majestic would be the word.
We eventually arrived in Snell Beach back on the East Coast late afternoon and move on to the Coromandel tomorrow.Read more