Waipoua Kauri Forest is largest area covered with original Kauri forest. Kauri trees covered big part of north island in the past but thanks kauri timber and gum industry only 3% kauri left. Kauri grow only in "northland" and Coromandel peninsula nowadays. Waipoua Kauri Forest was established in 1952 after strong public pressure to save last trees.
Biggest trees reach 50 meters height and up to 16 meters in diameter. They can live for more than 2 000 years. Tane Mahuta (Maori for 'Lord of the Forest') is the largest kauri tree in New Zealand now. It has 4.4 meters in diameter and is 51 meters tall. It's age is around 2 100 years. Te Matua Ngahere - (Father of the Forest) has over 5 meters in diameter and it is believed to be the oldest kauri tree with age of 4 000 years. All these trees you can reach in a few minutes walk from parking lot.
Kauri needs a lot of lights to grow up. Kauri seedlings need plenty of light, so kauri trees usually begin life growing amid manuka shrubland in forest clearings formed by windfall or fire. Tall adolescent kauri have narrow pole trunks, but as trees mature the trunk thickens and the lower branches are shed, giving form to the clean straight trunk of the adult tree.
Kauri forest contains an abundance of other plant types including large trees like taraire, kohekohe, towai and northern rata.
Throunson Kauri Park is situated just a few kilometers southeast. This park is much smaller but even bigger impression kauri tree do here. in Waipoua Kauri Forest are kauri spread among plenty of others kind of trees so actually kauri forest does not look like kauri forest. I would say that in Throunson Kauri Park kauri grow closer to each other. Sharp border of farm land with original forest makes also big impression.
Kauri were used to build houses, ships, bridges as well as for furniture - tables, chairs, piano, frames. You can see rich collection at Kauri Museum.