Waipoua Forest and Tane Mahuta

Home To Tane Mahuta, Lord Of The Forest, The Largest Known Kauri Tree Alive, Named For The Maori God Of Forests And Birds And Walked To On A Few Minutes Of Boardwalk From The Road, Inside One Of The Last Substantial Remnants Of The Kauri Forest That Once Covered Much Of The Northern North Island Before Logging And Disease Reduced It Drastically · Omapere, Northland

Waipoua Forest, on Northland's west coast between Dargaville and the Hokianga Harbour, holds one of the last substantial remnants of the kauri forest that once covered much of the northern North Island before logging and disease reduced it drastically. Its best known resident is Tane Mahuta - Lord of the Forest - the largest known kauri tree alive, reached by a few minutes of boardwalk from State Highway 12 and named for Tane Mahuta, the Maori god of forests and birds, a son of Ranginui the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother in Maori cosmology. The tree is estimated well over a thousand years old, its trunk a startling width at close range. Nearby boardwalks reach other notable giants, including Te Matua Ngahere, the Father of the Forest, with a wider trunk though not the greatest overall size. The forest faces a real, current threat from kauri dieback disease, a soil-borne pathogen that kills kauri and has no cure - visitors must use cleaning stations and stay on boardwalks to avoid spreading it. Walking to Tane Mahuta itself is free and takes only minutes from the road.

Northland's west coast, on State Highway 12 between Dargaville and the Hokianga Harbour, Omapere, Northland, New Zealand

The Tane Mahuta boardwalk and the forest's roadside tracks have no gate and are open at any hour, though walking after dark is discouraged without a torch given uneven ground off the formed sections. The Waipoua Forest Visitor Centre, when staffed, keeps roughly 9am to 4:30pm hours, shorter in winter, and is not open every day year round - check before relying on it being staffed for information or facilities. Cleaning stations at track entrances are available at all hours and must be used before and after walking any kauri track, not just when the centre is open. Some backcountry kauri tracks elsewhere in the wider forest have been closed for extended periods due to kauri dieback - this does not affect the main Tane Mahuta boardwalk, which remains open.

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