Big trees and big wins

Heading North from Dargaville, we encountered the "Kauri Coast". The kauri tree is a significant indigineous tree for northern NZ, with many being thousands of years old and thought to be amongst the most ancient in the world. It is a hard wood that has been used by Maori in carving and boat building.

One of the protected kauri forests, Waipoua Forest, houses the largest living tree in NZ, Tane Mahuta, or "Lord of the Forest". Standing 51.2m high and with a trunk girth of 13.77m, he is an impressive tree, and even our attempts to get perspective with Annalie in shot doesn't do it justice.

Our route then took us into the Hokianga Harbour region. Here we had a choice. Cross the harbour on the little car ferry, or save some cash (which would be spent on petrol) and drive around. We opted for the shorter, and more novel, floating route!

A quick stop off in Oponini to buy Lotto tickets resulted in a $680 win (woo hoo!), our biggest ever. It was 5 numbers, so it seems like a small amount, but still, much better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! On the other side of the picturesque harbour, you can see some giant sand dunes that are used for sand boarding.