New Zealand - Lord of the Forest

No, the title of this post is not a Lord of the Rings reference.  The Lord of the Forest is a very large Kauri tree within Waipoua Forest, which has trees that have been growing since before the days of Moses.

Before we get to that: After a very lovely breakfast that was brought to us in the lodge by our hosts, we went out to a scenic recreation reserve at the entrance to Hokianga harbor.  It was a fine clear day so the walk was very enjoyable.  This is the closest to the equator we'll be on this whole trip and we could definitely feel it under the sun.

A short drive away is Waipoua Forest, one of the oldest living forests in New Zealand.  Within the woods are two of the largest living Kauri trees.  These giant trees were prized for their straight tall trunks that could be used for ship masts and the Maori used to carve whole canoes and other water craft from the trunk of one tree.  European over-logging seriously threatened the forests of New Zealand until conservation movements were effective.  At Waipoua there are several short walking trails that allow you to see some of the older and larger trees.  There is a human-transported blight infecting the delicate roots of the trees so each trail as a shoe-cleaning station that you are asked to use before and after visiting the trails.

I'm standing next to the 7th largest kauri tree in NZ, Yakas.  

Yakas is about 43 meters tall and the trunk is about 12 meters around.

Kauri tree bark

Top of Tane Mahuta

Tane Mahuta, or Lord of the Forest, is the largest known living kauri tree.  Its total height is 51 meters and its trunk is 13.7 meters around.  It is estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years old!  I realize that these trees aren't as large as California's redwoods but they are still really impressive!  Can you find me in the below picture?  I'm standing on top of a bench so that I'm not dwarfed by the forest undergrowth.

Seriously.  Incredible.

 Keepin' the kauris safe

Had to do fried fish takeaway here again because it is too delicious! 

(The gulls know this fact too)

 Not the best picture, but it was the view from our dinner table at the quiet hotel restaurant in town.

Hans had the lamb shank and I had the shrimp linguine.  Lovely true last evening of vacation.

We have one more full day in New Zealand tomorrow but it will be mostly taken up by a drive back to Auckland and then a short flight to Christchurch where we'll stay the night not in jail.