27_KAURI TREE

We probably won't be able to see the biggest and oldest Kauri tree anymore, as we would need to drive over 2 hours north for that, but Steve is taking us to a forest where we will go on a Kauri Walk - there are very young trees here and young means 200 years old! We even have to pass through a shoe-cleaning station followed by shoe disinfection to protect these impressive trees!

Later at the Kauri Museum, we learn that the largest living Kauri tree is 2000 years old, stands 51.5 meters tall, and has a trunk diameter of 4.5 meters, wow!

Unfortunately, these trees have been so extensively logged in the last 150 years that there are only a few forests and scattered tall trees left. The wood is very flexible, has an aesthetic grain, and almost a golden color. The Kauri resin resembles amber and is excavated from the ground in fossilized form.

The museum is packed with everything about these trees, logging, processing machines, usage, and so on, truly impressive.