Waipoua Forest and the Hippy Hut

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December 30th 2019

Published: December 30th 2019

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idabo

Kauri Forest

We were heading north! First to Waipoua forest, where the gigantic Kauri trees grow, and then on to the Hippy Hut, an Airbnb place we had booked because it looked fun and quirky. But first we had to stop and buy a cooler on the way. A quick search before we left showed a place called “The Warehouse” just up the road, and we made a quick stop. As Ollie often gets great ideas about all the things we can’t live without whenever we go anywhere, we made it clear before going into the shop that we were only getting a cooler.

An hour later we were standing outside the shop with everything but a cooler. There was SO much stuff in there that seemed perfect for a three month trip in New Zealand. Three boogie boards in various sizes became an early Christmas present for us all. Buckets and spades for the beach is essential, as well as new sunglasses. And because we missed the cooler (they we sold out), we stopped at the next shop also and stocked up on yoga mats, Christmas presents and more stuff we couldn’t live without.

All stocked up on food we

Tane Mahuta - Father of the Forest

went into the forest. We saw the biggest tree, Te Matua Ngahere, Father of the forest, and impressive girth of 16,41 m. and 30 m. tall. That’s a trunk volume of 208 m3. That’s a whole lot and tree, and the pictures doesn’t give it the credit it deserves. There were many good walking loops, and it was nice to just be surrounded by green. Every time you enter a forest area there’s a check point where you remove any mud that you may have on your feet, and spray the underside of your shoes to disinfect your shoes and lower the risk of contamination. Ollie and Alba practiced, and had very clean shoes towards the end.

Next stop was the Hippie Hut. It was run by a lovely couple, who had built the place by themselves from scratch. The woman used to live in an old bus with her five children in the 70’s. Now they have a family house (made from an old truck), the Hippy Hut (our cabin), another guest room and in the middle was a big kitchen and living room area, shared by all. On top of that there was the game room with

We were only buying a cooler

... but where’s the cooler?

table tennis, drums and space for fun and movement. It was super awesome to see what they’d done, and hear the stories about how everything had developed organically over the years. It’s a whole different way of living, and it slowed us right down for the next three days. We stayed in the shared space and played games for many hours, and the couple’s grandson (who was Alba’s age), was very happy to have some company. It was also a good place to work on some of our goals for the trip.

We had each set ourselves a goal before leaving home. Something we wanted to work on, that we would have time for on a trip like this. Ollie wants to practice doing the wheel (or bridge?), including getting in and out of it by bending down backwards and getting up again. Mine is to learn a proper handstand, keeping my balance while standing still without support. Nick’s personal aim is building up to doing longer and stronger runs injury free. And there was plenty of time for all. Alba’s intention is to have fun! And out secret intention for her is to plan activities for her, that

Kauri Forest cleaning station

will get her more comfortable in the water, and maybe even learn to swim. No doubt Ollie is closest to reaching her goal, but the rest of us are working on it. Will give updates on the progress in the weeks and months to come.

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