Day 5 - Russell to Auckland via the Waipoua forest

Today we said good-bye to the Bay of Islands and our Villa Helios hosts, the Tuxfords. Taking the southwest track back to Auckland, we stopped outside of Kerikeri (famous for its oranges) at Rainbow Falls. The falls were a little difficult to find from our map and we missed the turn off more that once, but the effort was definitely worth it. There were very few people and the fall is a large 'punchbowl' type that plunges well over 60 feet. This was a difficult subject to photograph since in the morning light the falls are mostly in shade and the sky above had few clouds. It was beautiful all the same!

From Kerikeri we headed down SH12 and into the Waipoua Forest which is home to the largest trees in New Zealand and some of the largest and oldest trees in the world. Among  these giants is Tane Mahuta, Lord of the Forest. With a diameter of  over 4 meters and a height of 52 meters it is the largest Kauri tree in New Zealand and is estimated to be 1200 years old. It is only a short hike from the road along nicely kept trails. Down the road a bit is a parking lot and trailhead to The Four Sisters, a group of large Kauris and Te Matua Ngahere, 'Father of the Forest', with a diameter of over 5 meters. These are by far the largest trees I have ever seen and it was quite a sight. It is necessary to view the trees with something as a frame of reference. A person standing in front of one of these trees shows you how we are dwarfed by these incredible living organisms. Continuing south on SH12 you can see many large trees along the road-side. We made our way down to Matakohe and stopped for a brief visit at the Kauri Museum. It is full of beautiful Kauri and other native New Zealand woods, Kauri gum, and all sorts of historical information.

From here we drove east before connecting back with SH1 and making our way south to Auckland. We arrived during the rush hour period and although it was nothing like what we are used to at home, the traffic slowed considerably. A tip for travelers - the Auckland airport has two separate terminals for international and domestic flights. The walk between the two is not short, especially with all your luggage (trust me, we found this out the hard way). There is a shuttle bus that runs between the two terminals every 15 minutes or so and it is a much better way to make the connection. With not too much time to spare, we made  our flight and we were off to Wellington. This is a short hop, taking only about 45 minutes. And then we were on the ground again, catching a taxi (NZ$ 17.50) to The Hotel Raffaele with sparkling views of Oriental Bay and the city lights.