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Kauri trees grow straight and very fast until they break through the canopy. then all the lower branches fall off and they develop a crown way above the rest of the forest. This is the crown of Tane Mahute high above the forest, and seen from a picnic area across the road.

The Kauri forests

November 11th 2007
We spent the next day driving and walking through these forests. The first one had never been cleared and has a different feel to the others. They take care of it well, and work hard to keep out animals that harm trees, like possums, and feral cats that harm the wildlife. The old kauri trees (we're talking 800 - 1000 years old) are enormous; when I first saw one of them, I thought it was the back ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Ninety Mile Beach

The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year... ... read more

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