Mighty Tane Mahuta is the world's largest living Kauri tree he resides in Waipuoa forest and is named after the Maori god he is over 2000 years old ! bet hes seen a thing or to ! The Kauri trees are protected and the wood is very valuable so hopefully Tane will survive.
Next stop was Oponi a little town where nothing much happens and were everything revolves around a deceased dolphin named by the locals as Opo. There is a fantastic not to be missed film you can see at the information centre which almost made me have an accident in my pants because I was laughing so hard !. This film is a must see should you ever visit NZ ! The actual story of opo is rather sad and mysterious... The dolphin which frequented oponi and became NZ biggest tourist attraction causing blocked roads etc during the summer of 1955 became a kind of flipper friendly character swimming with locals and performing tricks...so special was the dolphin to the town that they erected several signs " please do not shoot our gay dolphin" for fear that he (later found to be a she) would be harmed. After four months of increased tourism and fame for the area opo the dolphin was found mysteriously dead washed upon local rocks...the conspiracy theories still rage today... opo was buried with full Maori honours and a statue was erected in his memory...other than Opo fame there is no reason to stop in Oponi.
After a great time in the Northland I arrived back with Hannah and Gareth then woke to a spectacular day so headed off to Rangitoto the local volcano on a 25 minute ferry ride from Auckland harbour. Walking around the volcano is really hot as the black volcanic rock holds the heat and bonces back at you The views across Auckland from the crater are amazing and well worth the effort of a sweaty walk !
Views from the top of the volcano
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