With a 28th birthday celebration in order we decided the day should be spent with some of New Zealand’s oldest inhabitants.  Our first stop brought us to the Omahuta (oh-ma-hoota) Kauri (cow-ree) Stump and the Kauri Sanctuary Walk. We played on the ‘footprint’ of a giant before enjoying a solitary walk among some of NZ’s largest living kauri trees, including the eighth and twelth biggest in the world!

“if you love somebody better tell them while they’re here…”

After our hike, we took a detour to see the Koutu Boulders.  A fifteen minute stroll at low-tide lead us to a bunch of spherical oddities that we couldn’t resist playing on.

“I’m on top of the world…”

“I’ve been waiting to smile, been holding it in for awhile…”

From there, we headed for the Waipoua (why-poe-ah) Forest.  The forest is home to Tane (ta-nay) Mahuta (ma-hoota), NZ’s laregest living kauri, speculated to be approximately 2,000 years old (if that doesn’t make you feel young, nothing will)!  We sat, mesmorized at the size and age of the ‘lord of the forest’ before venturing on to see the Yakas Kauri, our favorite kauri of the day.

“paying my dues to the dirt…”

Yakas is a kauri that you can touch, hug, take pictures with all day long, and sit next to while you ponder the real meaning of WOLO.  It is quite possibily, unless we swim with a blue whale in Kaikoura, the largest living thing we’ll ever touch! All in all it was a birthday of giant proportions.

“take you with me if I can…”

Next stop:  Waipu Cave

– Go. Change your state of mind.  

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