At the Toes of Tane
In awe of New Zealand’s tallest kauri tree
My bucket list is a work in progress. It changes with the years, whimsical fancy and emerging possibilities. Realistically, it also adapts to my physical capacity. Skydiving has already been ticked off, thankfully. I don’t intend testing my ankle elasticity or eye health ever with a bungy jump. Promise. And, while swimming with humpbacks in Tonga almost happened a few years back, that was sadly cancelled due to the tour leader’s health. It probably won’t happen any time soon – he also ageing with time. One thing has remained constant on my list, however – standing at the toes of Tane Mahuta.
I have seen giant kauri trees before, of course. I have even enjoyed a close-up experience with one nameless specimen while on a group tour to 90-Mile Beach. Nothing prepared me for the effect the lord of the forest had on me, though. Driving through Waipoua Forest on our way to a wedding in the Hokianga, my partner advised that the great tree was a mere stroll from the highway. It struck me as odd at the time; yet in truth, it makes perfect sense.
The introduction through the forest to the main event was inspirational enough. Other giants – some dying or already dead – capture imagination just gazing at them. There’s a constant urge to stop at every one, just to marvel at their majesty and take yet another photo to keep the memory alive. The very thought of these trees dying from the crippling disease threatening kauri – including the great godfather himself – is almost too much to bear. The footprints of humans can be devastating.
Finally arriving at the sidings where hoards of vehicles and tour coaches park, the timing was perfect.
Numbers were low and parking was relatively easy. Just as well, given the small amount of off-road parking there actually is on this narrow stretch of SH12. The coffee caravan must do good business. And just as well there’s a loo stop here. Mercifully the rain was also at bay. Not quite the clear blue sky I had hoped for to achieve prime photos– but dry is good.
That walk to the clearing was shorter than I expected. Knowing how old and how tall Tane Mahuta is, you expect to see him towering above everything as you meander along the boardwalk. Yet, like every canny celebrity – conversant with timing and making an entrance – there he is. This giant simply appears from oblivion; towering in pure majesty, gazing at the plebs below.
It is an extraordinary feeling – one you have to do to fully appreciate that overwhelming sense of awe. Realising this tree is older than Jesus is staggeringly hard to comprehend. The reality that we mortals are but mere fly spots on the wallpaper of life is incredibly humbling. Standing directly beneath him is powerful enough. The boardwalk continues, however, to a second clearing, where another view of this ancient giant puts further perspective on how magnificent this great kauri is; how insignificant we are; and how much life around him has changed since beginning life as a mere sapling.
The words on DOC’s sign sum it up. Introducing Tane Mahuta as the lord of the forest, it informs visitors they are in the presence of one of the most ancient of trees.
“In Maori cosmology, Tane is the son of Ranginui the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother. Tane tore his parents apart, breaking their primal embrace, to bring light, space and air and allowing life to flourish.
“Tane is the life giver. All living creatures are his children. This is the largest living kauri tree in New Zealand. It is difficult to accurately estimate the age of Tane Mahuta, but it may be that Tane Mahuta sprang from seed around 2000 years ago during the life of Christ.”
The dimensions are insurmountable: a trunk height of 17.7 metres, a total height of 51.5metres, a girth of 13.8 metres and a trunk volume of 244.5 metres(3). Tane is thought to have been discovered in the 1920s when SH12 was being surveyed. He was again identified in 1928 by bushmen who were building the road. Little wonder, then, that the road passes so close to this great giant – possibly right over his roots. Interestingly, while Tane is the tallest of all Northland’s giant kauris, his close cousin Te Matua Ngahere – Father of the Forest – is stouter and deemed older; estimated to be between 2500 and 3000 years old. Not as tall as Tane at just over 10 metres, this giant’s girth is larger however, at 16.4 metres. Standing in a different part of the forest, the walk to see him is around a 40-minute round trip, so perhaps time constraints limit the numbers flocking to see him. Located on the same path, to make the walk worthwhile, are the legendary Four Sisters. Kauri normally fight for sole survival, so it’s rare to see a stand of four separate trees this age. Believed to have come from the same seed pod explosion, they have co-existed for around 500 years.
Against other wonders of the world, I guess none of these giants even make the grade in terms of global recognition. For me: Standing at the toes of Tane was truly one of the most wondrous experiences I have had. May he reign supreme for a long time yet.
Getting there: The Tane Mahuta walk takes 3 minutes and is signposted from SH12, which runs through Waipoua Forest; around 65kms from Dargaville in the south and 18km to Omapere in the north in Hokianga Harbour. The Te Matua Ngahere walk is ab out five minutes away and is a 40 minutes round trip. The walk passes by the Four Sisters.
