Waipoua Forest is on the northern end of the North Island, on the west coast. This is a good place to go if you’re interested in getting close to some of the largest and oldest trees in the world, the Kauris.
It’s warm here, which Kauris love, as do the other 300 species of trees, ferns and palms found here at Waipoua. There’s a special tree here, that’s been named by the Maori people, Tane Mahuta, or “the god of the forest”. Tane Mahuta is the largest living kauri tree, at 168 feet high and 46 feet around.
It’s easy to get to just off the main road through the park, and it’s about 1,500 years old. There are four other giant trees here at Waipoua, all over one thousand years old.
