Kiwi hunters

Success! :-) we went out again looking for kiwi in the forest, and Stuart saw two kiwi! Unfortunately though I wasn't with him, the torch had ran out of batteries so he went back to the van to get more and saw them right next to the path. I couldn't believe I'd missed them so we stayed another night and went on the hunt again. We could hear them, the really loud screaming noise, and it seemed so close. Just as we gave up and were heading back to the van we saw two of them beside the path. One looked like it was about to walk out infront of us. They are really bizarre birds with their long beaks. It wasn't too fussed by our torch, just gave a grunting noise then wandered back into the bush. I was so chuffed. I can't believe we have seen wild kiwi :-) totally worth the late nights creeping through the forest!

Kauri Coast

We are now out again on the West coast of Northland. On driving to the Kauri coast we passed through a beautiful wee place called Hokianga Harbour. The massive sand dunes can be seen for km after km along the harbour shore. While out on a little jetty we noticed a holiday resort right on the beach....very fancy. It was a bit windy while there so we didn't spend any time at the beach, but still pretty to look at.

The reason we are out on this coast is to visit the massive Kauri forest. It has the largest living Kauri trees in the world. I knew they were going to be big......but when we got there I was not prepared for just how MASSIVE they were.
This is Tane Mahuta, named for the Maori Forest God. It stands at 51m and has a 13.8m girth. They say he is nearly 2000 years old. This is the largest living Kauri in the world.

Then there is Te Matua Ngahere, meaning the Father of the Forest. He is 30m shorter than Tane Mahuta but has a girth of 16.4m. He is the widest living Kauri. And I couldn't resist just giving him a hug! lol

In the forest there are also the Four Sisters. Four tall Kauri that has fused to each other at the base.

Just walking through the forest is fantastic. It is so different to anything I've seen back home. It is so dense and thick, everything is all growing on top of each other, fighting to survive. Purpose built paths have been made, some of them elevated above the forest floor. Apparently Kauri roots are so fragile and close to the surface, that walking on them can kill the trees. They have a problem just now with a disease called Kauri Dieback, that is killing off the large Kauri. So on entry and exit to all these forests you have to wash and wipe your feet with disinfectant. It reminded me of foot and mouth back home when you had to dip your feet and car tyres into the red disinfectant.

We stayed in a DOC campsite nearby and at night took a wander through the forest in the dark on a Kiwi hunt! We had to cover our torch with red cellophane, kindly donated to us by another camper, because where on earth do you buy red cellophane?! lol We heard the kiwis calling to each other. Sounds like someone screaming, which is a pretty spooky sound when you are in a forest in the pitch black. We could hear them scurrying around so close to us, but just couldn't reach them with the torch light to see them. But we haven't quit, we are going for a second try tonight. Hopefully we get to see one, fingers crossed!!