NATUREANDCO.COM - Visit the Native Kauri Forests of New Zealand: What to See and Where to Find them

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Travel & Adventure>Nature sightseeing>Native forests>

VISIT THE NATIVE KAURI FORESTS

Home to some of the great trees of the world

The kauri forests grow in the warmest parts of the country, north of the line Raglan-Whakatane. Kauris often occur in pure stands, but the forests include many other tree species, podocarps and hardwoods. The mature kauris dominate the forest by their sheer size, their huge distinctive crowns reaching high and wide over the canopy. In their undisturbed state these forests, like the podocarp-broadleaf forests more generally, are luxuriant, dense, rich in undergrowth, ferns and tree-ferns, lianas and epiphytes. They can present a distinctively tropical character.

Learn more about the natural history of the Kauri Forests.

Right: Te Matua Ngahere, "Father of the forest", a 2000 year old kauri in Waipoua Forest. Photo NC.

REGION from N to S	FOREST	DETAILS
Check the location of these forests on a map: click here
Northland	Northland Forest Park(NFP) (general)	Protects several large blocks of unmodified or regenerating kauri forest. Over 100 endemic plant species. Stronghold of the North Island brown kiwi. Proposal to gather the most significant blocks into a Kauri National Park.
Northland	Waipoua Forest Sanctuary (NFP)	The largest tract of unmodified mature kauri forest, home to the largest living kauris: Tane Mahuta and Te Matua Ngahere. Heart of the proposed Kauri National Park. One of New Zealand's great natural destinations. Several short easy walks, and some longer walks and tramping routes.
Northland	Puketi and Omahuta Forest (NFP)	One of the largest tracts of native forest in Northland. Rich in kauri, podocarp and hardwood. The kauris are mostly regenerating. Home to populations of kiwi, kaka, kokako, and other native wildlife species. Choice of short and medium walks.
Northland	Trounson Kauri Park (NFP)	450 hectares (1125 acres) of some of the best remaining unmodified kauri forest, now managed as a 'mainland island'. Refuge for kiwi, New Zealand pigeon, and other native wildlife species. A short loop on a well graded track.
Auckland	Waitakere Ranges Regional Park	The kauris are regenerating well after intense logging. A few large old trees and dense groves of younger trees in places, at Cascade/Kauri Park especially, with an easy, short loop track and other walks.
Coromandel Peninsula	Coromandel Forest Park	Some fine blocks of intact kauri forest with large specimens; regenerating forest otherwise. A good choice of fine short and medium walks.
Waikato	Hakarimata Range	Mostly regenerating forest, with two large old trees. Loop on a well-graded track.

Specific references for this page:

Ewen Cameron, Bruce Hayward, Graeme Murdoch 1997: A Field Guide to Auckland. Godwit.

Mark Pickering 1996: Wild Walks: Sixty Short North Island Walks. Shoal Bay Press.