Day 9 – Northland – Kauri Coast

Today, we left Pahia and traveled west to the Tasman Sea.  It rained most of the day, so we did not take many pictures.

After 2 hours of driving, we stopped on the Kauri Coast to see Waipoua Forest, home to the oldest trees in the world.  We weatherproofed ourselves and took a hike into the forest to view the largest living kauri tree, called the “god of the forest” by the Maori.  Many of these kauri forests were destroyed by loggers of yore, but the country has worked to restore the species.  This tree is 2000 years old, which makes us feel like newly hatched chicks.

Gigantic at 168 feet, the tree has a girth of 46 feet–makes our middles look downright twiggy.

Spectacular rainforest!  What could be more fitting than to see the rainforest in the rain?

Note my chic rainforest ensemble.

Pete’s chic GQ rainforest attire

The Kiwis have a delightful, quirky sense of style and art, but this family’s home is just plain scary.

We traveled another 2 hours south in the rain and stopped for a hike to witness a spectacular gannet colony.  The males strut their stuff to show off to potential mates, for it is mating season.  Look carefully at the video and you will spot some baby gannet.  Amazing sight.

We made it safely to Auckland and checked back into the same hotel.  We had a room on the 8th floor with a wonderful view of the city;.  Tomorrow we will drive 2 hours south to the Coromandel Peninsula.