Sequoia means big, BIG trees

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We put in a couple of long days' driving from Grand Canyon National Park across the largely-empty Navajo desert to mid-California. That left us only a short drive to reach the Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, where we spent a long day climbing the rock formations and walking through the magical sequoia forests.

A major highlight of the day was watching a baby brown bear cub on the side of the road, just metres from the car.

Sequoia trees are massive. They may not be the tallest trees around but they are the biggest in terms of bulk and overall mass. They survive lightening and forest fires over centuries and the oldest tree here is approximately 3,200 years old. Fallen trees are even big enough to drive a car through!

Walking through a grove of these sequioa trees is liking walking into a holy temple or cathedral, such is their majesty. We did the walk to see the 'General Sherman', the biggest tree on earth - only 2,200 years old but measuring in at over 10m in diameter and 1,385 tons in weight. It adds the equivalent of a normal 60-foot tree in weight each year.

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