Background
On Friday, December 23rd, 2022, I woke up at the Waipoua Campground in the Waipoua Forest. Following this I drove to the Kauri Walks. From here I hiked to the Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest) tree. Afterwards, I drove further to the Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest). The hike to Te Matua Ngahere is much further than that of Tane Mahuta. Tane Mahuta is the oldest kauri tree of its kind in New Zealand whereas Te Matua Ngahere is the second oldest.
Despite their age, the trees are very delicate with shallow roots. You have to clean your footware to enter the area. There is no camping along the winding road, you must go to a designated campground. Rangers patrol the area and will inform you that the population of kauri trees has diminished significantly as a result of people walking the area.
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