The Northland is a long, narrow peninsula north of Auckland. There are many things to see in this region, and we ended up spending a week exploring it. We decided to start on the west side, which is known for its Kauri forests. Our first stop was the Kauri Museum in the small town of Matakohe.
Kauri is an ancient tree that is only found naturally in the northern parts of New Zealand. These trees are truly giants of the forest, with heights reaching 150 feet and a girth (trunk circumference) reaching an incredible 50 feet! Its wood is super hard and dense, making it an amazing wood for building furniture and construction. So, similar to the redwood forests in California, settlers cut many of the forests down to supply valuable wood to Europe.
The museum had a lot of exhibits about the logging history of the Kauri forests, including many large slabs, working sawmill equipment, early settlement recreations and more. It also had information about Kauri gum digging boom times. Kauri trees (which have been around since before the dinosaurs) excrete sap as they lose their lower branches. The cumulation of this sap created large gum deposits underground. Gum diggers used long steel rods to probe the often swampy ground for deposits, then would painstakingly dig them out. The gum was highly valuable for making varnish, paint, linoleum floor covering, glue, sealants and more.
After learning so much at the museum, we were anxious to see the Kauri trees in person. There are still Kauri forest reserves in the Northland, and some with ancient trees that were saved from logging. That’s why we decided to camp at a Department of Conservation campground that night in the Trounson Kauri Park.
On our way to the campground, we reached the west coast and stopped to get a glimpse of the endless wind-swept Ripiro beach. At 66 miles (107 km), it is the longest driveable beach in New Zealand, and the site of over 110 shipwrecks. The sand is compacted so firmly that cars can drive on it, but not campervans unfortunately. After a quick walk on the beach, we headed to our campground for the night. We were right next to the forest where a wonderful trail loop let you explore part of the Trounson Kauri Park.
Because there is a soil-born pathogen that is threatening the Kauri trees, we went through a shoe-disinfecting station every time we entered and exited the forest. We also had to stay on a designated path – much of which was elevated to protect the Kauri’s delicate roots.
Walking in the forest and seeing these giant trees was awe-inspiring. If you have ever seen the California Giant Sequoias, this is a similar feeling. You will be walking through an already amazing forest with giant ferns, palms, and other trees when suddenly you see a massive tree trunk in front of you. It takes your breath away! And as you look up to its canopy high above the other trees, you see that it hosts an entire world of plants and animals in its branches and trunk. All sorts of epiphytes (like ferns and orchids) are growing amongst its nooks and crannies. Observing these trees made us think about the movie Avatar.
Another cool thing about this forest is that Kiwi birds are living there. Kiwis are flightless birds about the size of a chicken, with brown furry-looking feathers and a very long beak. They only come out at night to hunt for insects. They are very cute, but hard to see in the wild due to their nocturnal behavior.
After dusk we heard their call and went back into the forest to try to spot one. We had headlamps with red lights, which are more friendly to Kiwis. Within minutes of being in the forest, Sophie heard a rustle and we stopped and waited with our lights off. When we heard it again nearby, we turned on our red lights and much to our surprise, there was a Kiwi right on the trail a few feet in front of us! It got startled by our lights and ran around a tree before we could get a picture. We stayed out another 45 minutes hoping to see another one, but we saw no more. We were lucky though, as all the other campers we met had not spotted any. One nice bonus of being outside in this dark, remote area was that the stars were incredible. They filled the sky and we noticed constellations like Orion had way more stars behind them than what we usually see. What a fun night!
I am including a picture of a kiwi we took at the museum since we didn’t get one ourselves. The red light picture shows what the forest looked like with our red headlamps. And I am also attaching a picture of the stars in the sky taken just with my iPhone.
The next day, after taking one more loop through the Trounson Forest, we headed further north on HWY 12 where two of the oldest and largest remaining Kauri trees are still standing. Just as we were leaving our campground, we ran into a herd of cows coming down the road. We waited for them to pass, watching the herd dog doing amazing work to keep the cows in line.
Highway 12 went through an impossibly dense, hilly and tropical forest, the Waipoua forest. It felt like driving in a park, but it went on for miles and miles. And the road literally was one s-curve after the other – purposely built this way to protect all the old growth Kauri trees growing there. If it wasn’t so incredibly beautiful, it may have been annoying. But the payoff was so worth it!
Te Matua Ngahere is called The Father of the Forest. Its trunk is an amazing 54 feet in circumference and is estimated to be 3000 to 3500 years old – the oldest living Kauri tree known. When we came up to it, at first we thought we were looking at a cliff face in the woods. But as we got closer, we realized it was this amazing tree! Seeing it looming so large, with a history that defies the imagination, it was hard not to be wonderstruck.
Tane Mahuta is called the Lord of the Forest. It is the largest tree in volume. While its girth of 45 feet is slightly smaller than Te Matua Ngahere, its height is an impressive 168 feet (70 feet taller)! It is estimated to be 2000 years old.
After visiting these giants, we continued winding our way north and got on a car ferry across Hokianga Harbour. We next drove over the Mangataniwha Range on a brand-new road which just opened after a nearly three year closure due to flooding and landslides. The road felt like an endless series of switchbacks, with some really great views along the way though. We finally made it to our destination of Ahipara Bay, just outside Kaitaia, where we would be staying for a couple nights.
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