Tane Mahuta, 2023

Our plan following Hokianga was to drive south through the Kauri forests, see old friend Tane Mahuta, the Lord of the Forest--largest of the surviving giant Kauri trees--and then spend the night at the Trounson Kauri Park campground, going out in the bush after dark to see whether we could find the elusive kiwi. 

The Kauri--second largest of trees after California's sequoias--is
now endangered by the Kauri die-back disease, which can be carried
on boots; for any of the major Kauri visit sites, you have to scrape
and then disinfect your boots using the above apparatus

Then walk across the bouncy floor that traps excess disinfectant

But then you're ready to enter...on a catwalk of course

Tane Mahuta...only 146 feet high...but it's the girth
that is staggering...the trunk is about 9,000 cubic feet...

Thought to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years old

From a second viewing stand, a bit more perspective

Us, there

Just enter "kauri" in the search box and you'll
see many of our previous Kauri experiences

Vicki demonstrates proper de-disinfectant form upon exiting

We indeed camped at Trounson and later that evening went out into the bush, in the rain, no less, looking for kiwi. Vicki's idea. After many such efforts in four long New Zealand visits, I have concluded that the kiwi is in fact a national prank, akin to the jackalope in Wyoming.