Kauri Coast, New Zealand

Temperature: high of about 70ºF, low of about 50ºF


Today's highlight was a series of hikes through the Kauri Coast of New Zealand.  The Kauri Coast is on the western side of the north tip of the north island.  It isn't quite so developed over there, and it has the last remaining stands of kauri trees which used to be over much of New Zealand.



Those kauri trees are big.  They are protected now from harvesting, but you still see a lot of people selling kauri bowls and furniture.  We had to ask a ranger to find out that it is legal to make things from kauri that was previously cut.
People don't go on hikes so much in New Zealand.  Instead they tramp.  Here we are tramping through a stream.
This unrolling fern frond will eventually yield vegetation the size of a palm tree frond like in the fern tree picture below.
This kind of plant made it like hiking in the Land of Lost instead of in Middle Earth.
The big trees here are called kauri.  The native culture is called Maori.  They rhyme.  So what do you call a scowling hippy version of a gift given by a bride's family in a native wedding if that gift is a big tree like this with lemon juice on it?
Answer:  A flowery powery glowery towery Maori dowry soury kauri.






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