WHAIPOUA KAURI FOREST (05/08/09)
As we once again headed Southward we passed through Whaipoua Forest, famous for being the home of the largest of the few remaining Giant Kauri trees. The approach to the forest reserve was a fantastic twisting road through temperate rainforest.
A very rare occurance for our trip - in the rainforest but no rain!
The largest remaining Kauri tree in the world, they were nearly wiped out by logging in the first half of the 20th Century. This one, known as the Mother of the Forest, is around 2000 years old and it really is HUGE, unfortunately the sheer enormity does not come through well in the photograph.
A common sight in these forests - a prehistoric looking tree fern.
At the base of one of the much smaller (!) Kauris.
Another of the smaller trees. Access to the large trees is restricted as they have delicate surface root systems which could be easily damaged by tourists boots.
Father of the Forest, the 2nd largest Kauri. The size perhaps comes off better in this picture - if you imagine that it is at least double the height of a normal tree (not especially tall for a kauri) you can get some idea of how thick the trunk is.
1 comment:
lovely wallpaper, i really like it
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