New Zealand, 9-16-2017--Raetae Forest to Waipoua Forest

We camped near the Raetea Forest about 70 miles south of Cape Reinga.  The next morning we woke to find 3 other vans parked next to us.   

This fellow from England bought a van and then outfitted it himself.  This is a popular way to go for people planning to be in NZ for months rather than weeks.    

Even in the middle of nowhere, public toilets can be found. 

Rural scenery in the north half of the North Island. 

Tide flat near the head of Hokianga Bay.  Hokianga Bay is a long bay that cuts nearly halfway across the north part of the North Island.  It was one of the first places to be colonized by British settlers in the early 1800's.

Mangungu Mission, originally built in 1838.  In 1840, more than 70 Hokianga chiefs gathered here to sign the Treaty of Waitanga, which was to become NZ's founding document.  The signing took place in front of a crowd of over 3000 people, mostly natives.  

Not everyone was so sanguine though, as noted on a sign at the mission site (below).  

As Chief Te Taonui predicted, the native Maoris got short changed.  The only signs of poverty we saw in NZ were those like this dwelling in a nearby native village.

Calla lilly, a native of southern Africa, has naturalized in NZ and is a common sight in roadside ditches and swampy areas.  

Sand dunes near the mouth of Hokianga Bay.

Tide rips where Hokianga Bay empties out to the Tasman Sea.

Our next stop as we continued south was Waipoua Forest, home of the last big kauri trees.  These giants rival the huge California sequoias and are NZ's largest, though not tallest trees.

After nearly 200 years of cutting down kauri trees for lumber, the remaining trees are being rigorously protected.  Everyone entering or leaving the kauri forest passes through a shoe cleaning station like this one.  The object is to keep kauri dieback fungus from infecting the forest where the last big trees are. 

Tane Mahuta, the largest living Kauri tree in NZ.  The woman standing in the foreground gives some sense of the immense size of this tree.

"Tane Mahuta"  We just stood in awe looking at it.  

The vital statistics of Tane Mahuta. 

In the late 1800's, a kauri that was later consumed by fire was reported to have a base height diameter of 8.54 meters (28').  

Te Matua Ngahere, the second largest living kauri tree. 

Te Matua Ngahere's vital statistics

Looking up the trunk of a kauri tree, one can see why they were a sought after timber tree.  Not only did they yield long, straight lumber, but many of NZ's other trees are gnarly and not good for lumber.  As a result, kauri trees have been decimated in NZ.   

Although a conifer tree, the kauri has leaves rather than needles.

Jungle-like growth among the kauri trees.

Leaves of a silver fern tree.

Fern tree in the kauri forest.

Pearl cleans her shoes after a walk in the kauri forest.