Access

The kauri walks are signposted 11km north of Waipoua River Road and 1km south of Tane Mahuta on S.H.12. The car park is sign posted by a brown Transit NZ sign “Kauri Walks”. At times, the sign is obscured by vegetation so be alert upon approaching as you can easily miss it.

There is a large parking area where your vehicle will be guarded for a small fee.

Track

From the carpark follow the wide, even and metalled track for 7 minutes to the three way junction.

Te Matua Ngahere is signposted straight ahead. The track continues to be metalled with substantial boardwalks.

It is very important that you keep to the walking track at all times. The Kauri tree has very sensitive surface roots, and foot traffic around the tree endangers their life span.

Flora

“Te Matua Ngahere” (Father of the Forest) is the second largest living Kauri tree in New Zealand. He is also noted as being the oldest out of the two largest living Kauri trees and is estimated to exceed 2000 year old. He was discovered by Nicholas Yakas in 1928 when he and other men were working to build the road that is now known as State Highway 12.

His girth is the greatest of all kauri at 16.41 metres. His squat appearance relates to a height of 29.87 metres. He is probably hollow on the inside. Measured by the quantity of merchantable timber, he is the second largest known kauri.