Day 18 Kauri trees and driving

After another fabulous breakfast we said goodbye to Dino and Daniele, it was like leaving old friends. The drive to the ferry was foggy but things cleared as the sun burned off the cloud cover.  

The ferry leaving Russell Island:

Maori plant pod that is symbol of life‏:

We're going back south along the west coast so we can drive thru the Waipoua Kauri Forest and stop at the visitor areas. 

The Tasmanian Sea along the west coast of NZ‏:

Just like Ireland - sheep crossing the road‏:

Ireland but so much larger scale:‏

The first was the largest living Kauri tree "Tane Mahuta- Lord of the Forest" about 50 feet in circumference and 2,000 years old.

Kauri tree:

The largest living tree sign info:

The crabs in Waipahu forest - even they were impressed by the trees‏:

The Crabs had to wash their bodies before leaving the forest‏:

We walked further into the tropical forest to see the 4 Sisters.  The trails are all elevated to protect the shallow & sensitive roots; the trees evolved before there were even animals on the island. The pictures tell their grandeur better than us. 

4 Sisters tree, 4 trunks – same root:

We also stopped at the Kaori Museum and saw how they were harvested and milled - not easy!  Then back to a hotel near Auckland, a good meal, and bed.
 

Relative size. The living tree is on the right of center 3rd frame down. On the left are the historical findings marked in size‏:

Auckland harbor at sunset from our hotel: