Waipoua Forest, Kauri forest in Northland, New Zealand

Waipoua Forest is a protected woodland in northern New Zealand where massive kauri trees grow among ferns and dense vegetation. Multiple walking trails wind through ancient groves, allowing visitors to discover the different layers and inhabitants of this ecosystem.

Māori sellers Tiopira Kinaka (Te Roroa) and Parore Te Awha (Te Kuihi) sold the Waipoua Block No.1, about 80 km², to the Crown in 1876 for a little over £2,000. In 1947 campaigners presented a petition of more than 43,000 signatures to Parliament in a wheelbarrow, and on 2 July 1952 over 80 km² was proclaimed a forest sanctuary.

Te Roroa, the Māori guardians of Waipoua, are partners with the Native Forests Restoration Trust in the Waipoua Forest Trust, set up in 1999 to protect the kauri. The two organisations help guide the Department of Conservation in managing the forest. The name Waipoua is also used in te reo Māori.

Visitors should clean their shoes at designated stations and stay on marked trails to prevent disease spread that harms kauri trees. These simple precautions help protect the forest and ensure its health for future generations.

Tāne Mahuta is not the oldest kauri: Te Matua Ngahere, also in Waipoua, is the largest by girth and second largest by volume, estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 years old. About 200,000 people visit Tāne Mahuta each year, raising concern about kauri dieback disease caused by the fungus Phytophthora taxon Agathis.