Today was our last full day in New Zealand as we leave for California tomorrow evening. We wanted to finish things on our “bucket list” and for me that meant seeing the oldest living Kauri tree in the world. It is called Tane Muhate or “God of the Forest” in Maori language. The tree is about 40 feet in diameter and stands about 174 feet high. It is estimated to be between 1200 and 2000 years old. There is a larger tree in diameter in the Waipoa Forest but it is not as tall nor as old. We left Dargaville at 0730 and headed for the Waipoura Forest.
This tree is endangered and they will not allow humans to walk near its base because they fear the root system will be damaged by foreign bacteria or fungi. To see the tree, you must walk through a biohazard zone that coats your shoes with fungicides.
This tree is not easy to find and it is a long drive on the North Island through some winding roads. There is a visitor center in the Waipoura Forest but there is nothing there. I would not spend time driving in the narrow, winding road.
When we did locate it, it was a 5 minute walk from the road but it is a magnificent tree. I am glad we came to see this ancient and sacred tree.
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| Tane Muhata - World's Oldest Kauri Tree |
After viewing the tree, we started the transit from west to east on the North Island and were told that we needed to see the famous Hundertwasser’s Toilets in a town called Kawakawa. We would never have thought to visit public toilets without talking to a very enthusiastic New Zealand couple at a rest stop. They told us they were world famous and we had to see them…so we did. :)
Friedensreich Hundertwasser was an internationally recognized architect and ecologist born in Austria in 1928. He first came to New Zealand in the early 1970’s and purchased a farm near Kawakawa. He became a citizen on New Zealand in 1986 and was declared a Living Treasure of New Zealand. He was commissioned to build the public toilets on the town’s main street in 1997. These unique toilets are a tourist magnet.
The town also has a historic vintage railway that takes a 45 minute round trip from Kawakawa to Taumarere. The cost is $20 for the ride. The station has a great and reasonably priced restaurant where Earline and I got scrambled eggs on toast for $6.50 NZD. Earline found a dog named Max to pet and Max took to her as all dogs do.
Leaving Kawakawa, we mainly had a long drive south to reach the house of where we initially stayed when we arrived in New Zealand, the B&B of Graham and Katrine Patton.
Hill Park Homestay
Hill Park Homestay
We got to their place after about 7 hours of driving and unloaded our luggage. We watched the re-run of the All Blacks rugby game with them, The All Blacks won the game and Earline and I watched the second half of the game while in our room in Dargaville. When had missed the first half of the game. Having done this, Earline and I set off to find some food as we did not have lunch. We could find nothing suitable in Manarewa where the B&B is located so we decided to drive into Auckland as Earline still had on her bucket list to have some New Zealand Oysters.
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| Auckland's Viaduct Harbor |
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| Viaduct Harbor |
We decided to eat near the Viaduct Harbor and found a restaurant on the pier called Y-Not. The food was excellent and Earline was now satiated. We returned to our B&B to crash for the night. Our plane leaves at 7:45 pm tomorrow and we arrive at 11:40 am. It is interesting that we arrive before we left. :) This is the curiosity of New Zealand being in the beginning of international date line.
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