Kauri

These giants of the forests grow in the north of New Zealand. The biggest known kauri is Tane Mahuta, which means “God of the Forest”. Tane Mahuta is 51.2m tall and measures 13.7 m around its trunk – it would take around 10 kids holding hands to wrap around it! A lot of our kauri were cut down for their wood and its gum was used to make varnish. Kauri have cones full of seeds, a bit like a pine tree, which birds like the kakariki and kaka like to eat.