Kauri Trees

I love trees! Today we had a chance to visit a New Zealand rain forest. Did you know that New Zealand has rain forests? These forests do not look like the tropical rain forests of Costa Rica or Brazil, but because they get so much steady precipitation, they are still rain forests, kind of like the rain forests of the Pacific Northwest. Tane Mahuta, the largest tree in New Zealand and one of the largest living things in the world (only the redwood sequoias of California are larger), measures 51.5 meters tall, with a girth of 13.77 meters. Tane Mahuta is a kauri. The kauri are a slow growing tree and scientist believe that it took thousands of years for Tane Mahuta to grow to its current size. We had to be careful as we approached Tane Mahuta because the root system of these trees is very delicate and could be disturbed by human foot traffic. The kauri trees have great commercial value and much of kauri forests were chopped down long ago. Because they are such slow growing trees, they cannot simply be replanted and wait for new trees to grow to maturity. New Zealand’s conservation efforts have created protected spaces for the remaining patches of kauri forests. Now we will be able to enjoy these majestic trees for generations to come. The kauri tree also has special significance for the Maori. According to Maori legend, Tane is the son of Ranginui the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother. As a child, Tane tore his parent’s apart and then clothed his mother in the forest. It is believed that all living creatures of the forest are Tāne’s children. Our bus driver George shared a special Maori song to mark our visit to Tane.