Jess is a Wanderer stopped in the Waipoua Forest en route to the northernmost point of New Zealand. Staying with fantastic couch surfing host, James, and his dog, Tui, I had a great few days exploring.

Tane Mahuta is New Zealand’s largest Kauri tree with an incredible trunk width of almost 14m and a height of over 51m it’s absolutely enormous. It can be seen by simply pulling off state highway 12, washing your footwear (to prevent tree-killing diseases from spreading) and heading around five minutes into the bush. Well worth doing to see the enormity of the great tree.

Slightly further along from the infamous Tane Mahuta, there is a sign for ‘Kauri Walks’. This is a gravel road which turns into a carpark and is the starting point for three different walks. Varying in length there is something to suit every itinerary. I managed to do all three in under two hours – including stopping to take photographs. If you’re into running (which I’m not) but just for fun, you can jog the trails and, well, that makes things more exciting.

If you don’t have time to do all three trees then definitely go for Yakas. The boardwalk goes right up to the trunk so that you can stand in front of it and really appreciate just how thick it is.

You mustn’t forget to clean and wash your shoes on entering and exiting the Kauri Forest because of the tree-killing diseases that can be spread. It only takes two minutes and you can help to save some of these incredible natural giants.

Here are some more pics of the Waipoua Forest: