Most New Zealanders (and many tourists) will have visited Tane Mahuta, the largest (by volume) Kauri tree in New Zealand - personally, I consider Te Matua Ngahere larger on the basis of it's girth.
In any case - few have visited the largest Totara - Pouakani near the center of the North Island - which I visited just the other day.
Now, let me be blunt, when this old photo was taken, the sight was better then it is now...
 |
| Pouakani Totara (Historic) |
The tree is a twenty minute walk from the road, and the problem is that the area directly around it is well and truely overgrown, so it is difficult to photograph, and for that matter, appriciate.
 |
| Pouakani Totara - Feb 2011 |
 |
| Pouakani Totara - Feb 2011 |
 |
| Pouakani Totara - Feb 2011 |
 |
| Pouakani Totara - Feb 2011 |
 |
| Pouakani Totara - Feb 2011 |
All in all, I feel the scrub around the tree should be kept low in order to appriciate it (or a tower built nearby to see it from a distance), but it's still very impressive, at 11.43m girth (4m above ground), and 39.67m tall!
Just one thing to be careful of - the giant potholes in the carpark - big enough for any passenger car to bottom out on.
