Kathy's Odyssey: The Waipoua Kauri Forest and the Road to Opononi

A wonderful recovery this morning, starting with finding my jewelry bag. I should never mess with my packing system. The rest of the day the wind was at my back as I zipped along in my little Rattler. Another long driving day back on the 15km/hr turnipike for much of the way. I picked up bread and fruit at a perfect little Saturday market then stopped at a depressingly good Kauri Wood Museum showing how they lived in the mid 1800’s and devastated the forests.. Further down the road I saw a bunch of upended Kauri tree stumps behind a fence and a sign that said Wood Art. They were using old stumps dug out of swamps and farmer’s fields, paua shells and glass work to make some huge beautiful objects. I got some small gifts then pushed on.

I began finding signs to Kauri forest parks but the access roads were all 10+kms down rough gravel and I didn’t trust Rattler to make it without a flat tire. I finally came to the sign for the largest park and as the gravel road was only 1.5km how bad could that be? Well there were several places where the road was so narrowly carved out of the hill that it was one lane, only one SUV had to back up a ways for me.

When I reached the reception area it was small and only about half a dozen other vehicles were there. I asked the lady about walks and she said I could go by myself but maybe I would like to come on the Twilight Tour in the evening as it was very special and it was hot for a walk now. She suggested I go to my hotel and sort myself out (not sure what needed sorting) and come back on the tour. For better or worse I have come to trust when people try to give me a clue that maybe I should try a different way and I wanted to do the night tour anyway.

The road to town was longer than I expected and driving through the forest was like driving through Jurassic Park, so lush, the ferns so high and it went on for 20+ kms then dropped down to a beautiful bay. Turns out there were a couple of other signs along the way with easy access to the trees but by then I had a mission. My hotel is small, not even 20 rooms, which are also small but have good character and are nicely finished. I got signed up, sorted out and gobbled down some fish and chips before they came to pick me up.

It was the best evening of the whole trip. We were gone for over 4 hours and being in the forest at twilight and in the dark was magical. There were eight of us and no one else around. Billy Boy was our guide and full of stories about the uses of the plants, Maori legends, and the relationship between the land, the sea and the people, he had an assistant who also knew a lot. The path was not difficult and the further in we went the taller the upper story became. When we got near the Father of All Trees and 3,500 years old Billy Boy began singing and chanting. He was respectful of the place and understated, which made it all the more powerful. We walked looking down and then when we turned and looked up everyone let out a gasp in wonder at the size. We took time and heard legends then walked quietly back to the van. It would have been enough but then it got even better when we went to the next forest, which by then was almost dark. We walked in to see the God of the Forest just as the last light was leaving it. At, 2,000 years old with it had 40 different species of trees and plants growing from its limbs and it was still making viable pine cones. They brought out a special tea sweetened with Tee Tree honey and we drank in honour of the spirit of the trees. I could go on for pages suffice it to say that when we were coming back everyone said being there was the best experience they had had in NZ. I felt as if I began with the great day trip up to the tip of the Coromandel, had some wonderful experiences on the tour in the middle and now am finishing with another experience that adds a sense of wonder at what this country has to offer and now a few days to rest up in the Bay of Islands.