Kaori Grove Walk

One of the great tragedies of European colonialism in New Zealand is the exploitation of native plants. Logging in the Coromandel Peninsula in the 19th and early 20th centuries nearly decimated the indigenous Kaori tree population in the area. Kaori trees make ideal ship masts, as they are tall, straight, and knot-free. The methods for extraction damaged the landscape as the huge trees were often rolled down streambeds. Kaori gum was also extracted for use in paint and varnish and the tree left to die. This logging combined with the influx of farming in the region left only 1% of the native Kaori population intact. The region is now protected and slowly regenerating but these Kaori trees are much like Redwoods in the U.S. and take a very long time to grow.

The Kaori Grove Walk near Thames contains some of the oldest Kaori trees in the country. Below are some pictures of us with one of these massive trees (though this one is still a baby, another on the North Island is nearly 45 feet wide and 2,000 years old).


Today (Saturday) we leave the Coromandel Peninsula and head north of Auckland into the Northland region of New Zealand. As you can probably tell from some of these pictures it is now definitely summer! Tomorrow we are going sailing in Paihia before heading back to Auckland on Monday to sell the car and get ready to come home.