Tane Mahuta (god of the Forest)
Following recent events where we witnessed the closure of the Waitakeri ranges and many other Kauri walks due to Kauri dieback disease, we wanted to visit some of New Zealand's largest Kauri trees before it was too late, so we headed out to the Waipoua forest located on the Kauri coast.
Our first stop was at the Trounson Kauri Park
officially opened in 1921, it's a 586-hectare reserve featuring an impressive stand of kauri trees and let visitors enjoy a glimpse of what pristine kauri forests were once like.
The loop track is an easy 1.6km loop track, and leads you through a spectacular stand of kauri trees with some interesting on-site information like this one found next to a fallen Kauri tree.
There is some other interesting facts near the entrance you can read about the area, and about the opening of the park.
As with all Kauri parks, please clean your gear properly before and after you have done the walk.
From here we headed to New Zealand's largest known living kauri tree, "Tane Mahuta" (Lord of the Forest).
Please clean your gear and stick to the track.
This tree is a whopping 51m high and believed to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years old, its overwhelming size makes people look like dwarfs. To get a broader view of Tane Mahuta, you can move further along the track, which then leads to another viewing platform.
I was happy to hear from this friendly lady that this tree is not only tested free of Kauri dieback, but has in fact grown since it was last measured!
Tree spec:
Trunk girth: 13.77 m
Trunk height: 17.68 m
Total height: 51.2 m
Trunk volume: 244.5 m³
But there was another giant to visit, which in ways was more impressive to me, Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest).
A short drive from Tane is another walk sign posted as "Kauri Walks",
Again, please clean your gear before and after your walk.
here you will find Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest), considered the 2nd largest living kauri tree in New Zealand, not only is it the 2nd largest, but also the oldest, estimated to exceed well more than 2,000 years.
Tree spec:
Trunk girth: 16.41 m
Trunk height: 10.21 m
Total height: 29.9 m
Trunk volume: 208.1 m³
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Created by:
Pix on Fire
pixonfirePhotography
9 ноя 2018
