LORD OF THE FOREST
09 AUGUST 2022
Tāne Mahuta
Waipoua Forest
On the beautiful west coast of Northland, sits the Waipoua Forest which is home to Tāne Mahuta, the largest living kauri tree in the whole of New Zealand. The drive through the forest is loooong and wiiiiindy and every corner and straight part of the road looks the same - but it's all worth it to see the Lord of the Forest! We drove in from Kai Iwi Lakes as we were heading north to Opononi and the drive through to get to Tāne Mahuta is longer coming from south - it seems like a breeze heading down to visit from north!
Waipoua forest is has the biggest remaining mature kauri trees than anywhere else in New Zealand. It was declared a sanctuary in 1952 and has over 200,000 visitors per year! That is one holyschamoly famous tree. The forest is also home for little brown kiwis and the endangered North Island kokako.
Getting into the forest to see Tāne Mahuta takes 1 - 2 minutes, with an easy, flat walk through native bush.
Waipoua forest is has the biggest remaining mature kauri trees than anywhere else in New Zealand. It was declared a sanctuary in 1952 and has over 200,000 visitors per year! That is one holyschamoly famous tree. The forest is also home for little brown kiwis and the endangered North Island kokako.
Getting into the forest to see Tāne Mahuta takes 1 - 2 minutes, with an easy, flat walk through native bush.
Driving through the Waipoua Forest
A beautiful art piece at the start of the walk
Heading in to see the Lord of the Forest
Bitterly Disappointed
As per usual on any kauri walk in New Zealand, you'll go through a boot washing station. After that, you walk under a beautiful steel design and into the Waipoua Forest. There are not only kauri trees around but other native New Zealand trees, offering shade from the sun (and any chance of warmth in winter!! Just like the Trounson Kauri Park we visited, brrr), all towering over you as you walk along.
The anticipation of seeing Tāne Mahuta was awesome as we had heard so much about him and seen photos. When we got to the viewing deck, it sort of stuck out more to the right, so we stopped and looked at a kauri tree in the distance that we thought was Tāne Mahuta and we were extremely underwhelmed. We took a few photos and showed the girls. We stayed for about a minute and carried on the track, thinking it was a really long track that would make the tree seem a lot bigger as we got near!
We turned the corner and the path ended. We looked around to find Tane as there were some largeish kauri trees to the left of us. There were two people standing at the end of the path chatting and I said, "Excuse me, but, er, ah, where's the tree?". The lady looked at me weird and said, "Turn around.", so we did and what we saw was absolutely magical and caused us to say "HOLY SH*T" really, really loud! Tāne Mahuta looked like something out of an Avatar movie! We all had a laugh about it and the guy started telling us some interesting facts about the trees and plants in the forest. This was really cool and we love learning new things and talking to locals - you always find out so much more this way!
The anticipation of seeing Tāne Mahuta was awesome as we had heard so much about him and seen photos. When we got to the viewing deck, it sort of stuck out more to the right, so we stopped and looked at a kauri tree in the distance that we thought was Tāne Mahuta and we were extremely underwhelmed. We took a few photos and showed the girls. We stayed for about a minute and carried on the track, thinking it was a really long track that would make the tree seem a lot bigger as we got near!
We turned the corner and the path ended. We looked around to find Tane as there were some largeish kauri trees to the left of us. There were two people standing at the end of the path chatting and I said, "Excuse me, but, er, ah, where's the tree?". The lady looked at me weird and said, "Turn around.", so we did and what we saw was absolutely magical and caused us to say "HOLY SH*T" really, really loud! Tāne Mahuta looked like something out of an Avatar movie! We all had a laugh about it and the guy started telling us some interesting facts about the trees and plants in the forest. This was really cool and we love learning new things and talking to locals - you always find out so much more this way!
The viewing point for Tāne Mahuta. Remember to look LEFT to see him!
NOT Tāne Mahuta
Will The Real Tāne Mahuta Please Stand Up!
It was time to say goodbye and head back the way we came to see Tāne Mahuta.
When we got up close, it was a magical moment. He really IS Lord of the Forest! Tāne Mahuta was standing so proudly and he was towering over any people and trees near him. He is estimated to be between 1250 and 2500 years old! There would have been so many more insanely huge trees like this if the deforestation in Northland pioneering times hadn't happened. We learnt a lot about this at the Matakohe Kauri Museum.
You aren’t able to get close to the tree and touch it, but the boardwalk isn’t far at all from it, so you get a fantastic view. There are bench seats to rest on while you stare in awe.
The guy we had been talking to, was saying that the pattern in the tree trunk is caused by the tree swaying in the wind as it grows up. It was like a diamond pattern and looked really pretty. There was dark greenery creeping up the trunk and right at the top there were vibrant green shoots coming out of the branches.
When we got up close, it was a magical moment. He really IS Lord of the Forest! Tāne Mahuta was standing so proudly and he was towering over any people and trees near him. He is estimated to be between 1250 and 2500 years old! There would have been so many more insanely huge trees like this if the deforestation in Northland pioneering times hadn't happened. We learnt a lot about this at the Matakohe Kauri Museum.
You aren’t able to get close to the tree and touch it, but the boardwalk isn’t far at all from it, so you get a fantastic view. There are bench seats to rest on while you stare in awe.
The guy we had been talking to, was saying that the pattern in the tree trunk is caused by the tree swaying in the wind as it grows up. It was like a diamond pattern and looked really pretty. There was dark greenery creeping up the trunk and right at the top there were vibrant green shoots coming out of the branches.
Tāne Mahuta
Note to self - take your tripod and your own photos! Someone took this for us but it ended up being warped lol
Information board near Tāne Mahuta
Maori Legend
The Maori legend of Tāne Mahuta tells the story of how Tāne was created.
Ranginui was the sky father and Papatuanuku was the earth mother and Tāne was their son. The love from Tāne's mother and father was so strong, they never wanted to be apart so they held each other in a permanent embrace but this created the darkness. Tāne used all of his strength to separate his parents from their embrace so that his father was high in the sky and his mother was below, clothing her with vegetation. Tāne's children are the birds and trees of the forest.
Ranginui was the sky father and Papatuanuku was the earth mother and Tāne was their son. The love from Tāne's mother and father was so strong, they never wanted to be apart so they held each other in a permanent embrace but this created the darkness. Tāne used all of his strength to separate his parents from their embrace so that his father was high in the sky and his mother was below, clothing her with vegetation. Tāne's children are the birds and trees of the forest.
The boardwalk is well maintained throughout
The river near the exit to the forest
Know Before You Go
- Opens 8:30am – 4:30pm. The gate to the track is locked at night
- 100m to the south you can drive to another parking lot where there are some kauri walks. One takes you to Te Matua Ngahere whose trunk is twice as wide!
- The walk from the carpark to see Tāne Mahuta only takes a few minutes, so it's definitely worth stopping if you're just passing through
- Parking is FREE
- Seeing Tāne Mahuta is FREE
- You'll need to wash your shoes at the boot washing station before you go in and before you leave the forest
- It's a flat boardwalk so is fine for prams
- There are toilets opposite the entrance to the walk, as well as a bike rack
- There is no cellphone reception in the forest
- There are no shops or petrol stations in the forest
- No pets are allowed
- Visit at night to see kiwi!
Mappy McMap Face
Getting There
The drive to Tane Mahuta takes you through the Waipoua Forest. It’s a long and windy drive that takes you through native NZ bush. It's 50 minutes north of Dargaville and Kai Iwi Lakes) and 30 minutes south of Oponini.
Tāne Mahuta is clearly sign posted and there’s plenty of parking on either side of the road.
Tāne Mahuta is clearly sign posted and there’s plenty of parking on either side of the road.
Conclusion
Tāne Mahuta is an important part of New Zealand and our history and Maori culture and visiting him will leave you in awe at the sheer size and also sad that there was such a destruction of the Northland kauri trees in the pioneering days, as there would be so many more kauri trees as large as, or bigger than, Tāne Mahuta.
It's a short walk into the forest and easy for all ages and abilities.
It's a short walk into the forest and easy for all ages and abilities.
Gallery of Tāne Mahuta
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
More to do near Tāne Mahuta
MAUNGANUI BLUFF
NORTHLAND A rugged and wild west coast beach you can drive your 4x4 on and see seals, collect mussels and explore rock pools.
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KAI IWI LAKES
NORTHLAND These are the clearest lakes we have seen in the North Island. Perfect place to relax in summer or take the boat out and catch some trout.
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TROUNSON KAURI PARK
NORTHLAND This sheltered walk is part of the Kauri Coast Trail in Northland where you get to experience giant kauri trees up close.
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