Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
North Island which bursts into vivid red flower in December, earning the nickname
'Christmas tree'; and a similar crimson-flowered tree, the rata. Rata species are found on
both islands; the northern rata starts life as a climber on a host tree (that it eventually
chokes).
The few remaining pockets of mature centuries-old kauri are stately emblems of
former days. Their vast hammered trunks and towering, epiphyte-festooned limbs, which
dwarf every other tree in the forest, are reminders of why they were sought after in colo-
nial days for spars and building timber. The best place to see the remaining giants is
Northland's Waipoua Kauri Forest, home to three-quarters of the country's surviving
kauri.
The pressure has been taken off kauri and other timber trees, including the distinctive
rimu (red pine) and the long-lived totara (favoured for Maori war canoes), by one of the
country's most successful imports -
Pinus radiata
. Pine was found to thrive in NZ,
growing to maturity in just 35 years, and plantation forests are now widespread through
the central North Island - the southern hemisphere's biggest, Kaingaroa Forest, lies
southeast of Rotorua.
You won't get far into the bush without coming across one of its most prominent fea-
tures - tree ferns. NZ is a land of ferns (more than 80 species) and most easily recognised
are the mamaku (black tree fern) - which grows to 20m and can be seen in damp gullies
throughout the country - and the 10m-high ponga (silver tree fern) with its distinctive
white underside. The silver fern is equally at home as part of corporate logos and on the
clothing of many of the country's top sportspeople.
