Hello Mr Tane Mahuta!

I'd like you to meet Mr Tane Mahuta, not my other half in in the foreground but the big massive tree in the background. This giant Kauri tree is the feature in Kaipara's Waipoua Forest. He is not alone, there are other Kauri trees in the forest but he is the largest at with a width of 1.377m and a height of 51.2m. It's age is estimated to be between 1200 and 2500 years old

The Waipoua Forest is located on the Kauri Coast of the Kaipara. In 1885 the forest came under the care of the State Forest Act and an area of 90km was put under the State Forests Reserve.

If there's one thing I love about exploring bush walks and native reserves it's all the different types of plants and trees.

The Waipoua Forest Trust was set up in 1999 to protect the Kauri forests in this region.

Volunteers take part in weeding previously planted areas, maintaining the ground, collecting seeds, and monitoring pests such as possums ans rats.

Waipoua and neighbouring forests of Mataraua and Waima make up the largest remaining area of native forest in Northland.

These were the only range of mushrooms I could find on the forest floor, most likely because there hadn't been alot of rain there lately.

Redwood Forest (Whakarewarewa) - Rotorua

While out at Rotorua last week one place we visited was the Redwood Forest (Whakarewarewa). 6 ha of Redwood trees scattered in close proximity to each other that grow so tall and leafy.

Apparently 170 trees were planted in the early 1900s and only a handful are still there today. This one is one of New Zealand's Ponga tree ferns.

We could't believe how cold it was while walking along this track. The temperature for the day was around 8 deg celsius. I should've taken a jacket.

Sad to see quite a few mushrooms and toadstools had been squashed and stood on, this was the only one I could find.

This track we walked took about half an hour but there were various other tracks there too.

One of the main attractions there was the treetop walk which costs around $25 NZD which we weren't going to pay, we were just as happy on the ground - besides I'm scared of heights so that left me out.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Toadstool love!

On my last visit to McLaren Falls I was sitting in the yellow leaves on the ground enjoying the colours around me and the cooler temperatures when I spied this wee toadstool on the ground near a picnic bench. Very obviously a poisonous pretty thing I couldn't help but take a photo of it's lumps and bumps and vibrant red coat. I just love to photograph unusual things :-)

For more Our world Tuesdays click here :-)