27th-28th June 2009: Waipoua Forest

The mighty Kauri trees of northern New Zealand have featured quite prominently during our year in NZ. We first encountered them on the Pinnacles walk back in August last year, and I've been fascinated by the history surrounding these giants ever since. Their timber and gum had a huge impact on the development of NZ once Europeans arrived and started exploiting them.

To sate my curiosity, we used one of our two remaining weekends together on a Kauri extravaganza: a trip to Waipoua forest, which is the largest remaining area of mature Kauri forest, and a stop on the way at the Kauri Museum in Matakohe.

The museum has an excellent collection of all things Kauri-related apart, oddly, from a general introduction to the trees. We were glad to have known some background before we arrived. There are sections dedicated to the history of the sawmills, gum-digging and the so-called swamp Kauri: trees tens of thousands of years old that fell into bogs and were preserved. I think Sophie enjoyed the period-lifestyle displays more than I did, but there we plenty of big machines to keep me interested.

Perhaps the most interesting display was a lengthwise section of a mature tree that was recently killed by lightning. On its side, it gives a good impression of just how much timber there is in these trees and why they were so sought after. On the wall beside it there's a cross-section of the tree measuring 2m in diameter. Painted outside that are outlines of rounds of larger Kauris - some of which beggar belief in their scale.

The cross-section and outlines are on the wall behind - use the chair for scale!

After the museum we headed north to the Top 10 Holiday Park in Kaihu. Top 10s usually come across as characterless and densely-packed caravan parks, but in the uncrowded low season we were pleased with our cosy little lodge: a comfortable double bed and a bijou kitchen in a beautiful spot by the river, all for 75NZD. We had planned to go on the organised kiwi-spotting tour but rain and a nascent cold put me off.

On Sunday we headed up to Waipoua Forest itself. Some driving and walking took us to a number of massive trees: Tane Mahuta, the largest living Kauri by volume, and Te Matua Ngahere, the largest by girth. We also walked to Yakas, which is smaller (though still huge) but isn't surrounded by protected fences so you can get close to it.

Sophie in front of Yakas - the 7th largest Kauri tree

One thing is for sure: you can only really appreciate these trees by seeing them yourself!