The Magnificent Kauri

Hi welcome back to my blog. 
Today I would like to introduce you to a real giant, "Tane Mahuta", (Maori for „lord of the forest“).
You can see him in the photo. He is 2350 years old.

He is 4.91 metres in diameter and 17.8 metres to the first branch.  

The Kauri Tree is a type of pine which grows in the northern part of the North Island. 

Ancestors of the Kauri first appeared between 135 - 190 million years ago. Can you believe how old that is?

The oldest tree is Te Matua Ngahere. He is about 3000 years old.

As a young tree the kauri has a narrow shape with branches along the length of the trunk. As it grows the lower branches fall off. Eventually the top branches develop into a big crown. When the bottom branches fall off they don’t regenerate like other trees would do. Sometimes the crown of the trees gets knocked off in heavy storms and like the lower branches the crown dosen’t regenerate. The bark is sheding permanently so that vines can’t grow on it.

Wood from kauri is one of the world’s great timbers. Long wide planks were cut from the big trunks. The timber was used for many things like: ship building, houses, furniture, bridges, fences, dams, barrels, large rollers, rail sleepers, mine-props, carving etc. It is easy to work, easy to dry and very stable. Giant Kauri Ghost is the biggest kauri tree on record.  It lived up to the 1870’s. 

The black rings that I am standing in front of symbolize the diameters of some of the largest ever recorded kauri trees in New Zealand.

Save our Kauri forests. They are dying from kauri dieback disease.