Activities at Waipoua Forest
Tracks & walks
The drive on State Highway 12 provides a good introduction to the beauty of the forest. It winds through magnificent stands of tall kauri, rimu and northern rata, and offers extensive views in a few places.
Good walking tracks give easy access to the most spectacular attractions of the forest: the giant trees Tane Mahuta, Te Matua Ngahere and Yakas.
A few tramping tracks and routes are also available for those who wish to venture deeper into the forest, especially in the high plateau and ranges.
The camping area and cabins make a good base for exploring the forest. A large picnic area with a good swimming hole is adjacent to the visitor centre.
A stand of four impressive kauri trees, known as the Four Sisters, can be visited by taking a 10-minute walk in the Waipoua Forest.
Walk up a short track that climbs through a stand of young kauri ‘rickers’ and offers scenic views of the Waipoua River.
The 2.5-km track connects the Waipoua Visitor Centre to the lookout. The track traverses through a regenerating manuka and podocarp/hardwood forest.
Visit Tane Mahuta, New Zealand's largest known living kauri tree.
Take a 20-minute walk in Waipoua Forest to view the world’s second largest living kauri (Te Matua Ngahere).
This short loop track in Waipoua Forest is 2 km south of the forest lookout. Fine examples of toatoa (blue celery pine) and other podocarps can be seen from the track.
A 40-minute walk on well-surfaced track leads you to Cathedral Grove. In the grove stands the Yakas Kauri, the seventh largest kauri in Waipoua Forest.
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