Blog for Picton and Waipoua Kauri Forest

Brett Friedberg

Picton is a town in the north east corner of the south island of New Zealand with a population of less than 3,000 people. Picton is the main town where ferries travel between the two islands through the Queen Charlotte Sound. Picton is a major tourist destination with many waterfront cafes and dolphin/seal watching. There are many places to hike and see the different views of the sound. Between the Waikawa Bay and Picton there is a snout where you can see a great view of the peninsula.

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/charmedlife/rtw-2006/1175937840/tpod.html - a blog about traveling into Picton

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Picton_New_Zealand.JPG&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Picton_New_Zealand.JPG&usg=__U89chddJxZ64mFoeutBXNVv-OeI=&h=1200&w=1600&sz=815&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=25ebA-GCFFi0TM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpicton%2Bnew%2Bzealand%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1 – Picture of Picton
http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/p1a.jpg - People having a great time in Picton

http://www.offexploring.com/photos/scottfree/photos/Queen%20Charlotte%20Sound%20104.jpg - Picton

Waipoua Kauri Forest is part of the largest remaining native forest in the northland. They are under the protection of the Department of Conservation, so none of it is being lost to make way for farmland or for timber. Kauri are the major trees that make up this forest. They are huge trees which make them a beautiful site to see. They can reach heights of 50 meters tall and reach widths of 16 meters. Beneath the canopy of the Kauri there is a good amount of diversity in the shrubs and smaller plants. This forest is home to one of New Zealand's endangered species, the Keruru which is a type of pigeon. Rats and possums have preyed on this pigeon which has been one of the reasons its population has decreased so much.
The Waipoua Kauri Forest has long been inhabited by the Maori people. This group of people rely on fishing and agriculture to live. Much of the forest was cut down when European settlers came to New Zealand. This was due to the size of the Kauri trunks and the need/want for farmland in this area. Eventually in 1952, the 9,105 hectare Waipoua Sanctuary was created to help preserve the forest until the Department of Conservation was able to increase protection of the forest.

http://aviary.owls.com/wood_pigeon/wood_pigeon.html - A little bit about the New Zealand pigeon!

http://www.davidwallphoto.com/images/%7B6D5EA0B1-0890-48C8-AF97-E136AC011AA9%7D.jpg – picture of a Kauri tree
http://nzphoto.tripod.com/forest/images/kauri01.jpg - Picture of Waipoua Kauri Forest

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/liammichelle/downunder-0405/1103258160/tpod.html - blog from someone who visited the Waipoua Kauri Forest