I'd like you to meet Mr Tane Mahuta, not my other half in in the foreground but the big massive tree in the background. This giant Kauri tree is the feature in Kaipara's Waipoua Forest. He is not alone, there are other Kauri trees in the forest but he is the largest at with a width of 1.377m and a height of 51.2m. It's age is estimated to be between 1200 and 2500 years old
The Waipoua Forest is located on the Kauri Coast of the Kaipara. In 1885 the forest came under the care of the State Forest Act and an area of 90km was put under the State Forests Reserve.
If there's one thing I love about exploring bush walks and native reserves it's all the different types of plants and trees.
The Waipoua Forest Trust was set up in 1999 to protect the Kauri forests in this region.
Volunteers take part in weeding previously planted areas, maintaining the ground, collecting seeds, and monitoring pests such as possums ans rats.
Waipoua and neighbouring forests of Mataraua and Waima make up the largest remaining area of native forest in Northland.
These were the only range of mushrooms I could find on the forest floor, most likely because there hadn't been alot of rain there lately.
