As we came into Omapere we could see across the mouth of the Hokianga Harbour to a long hill on the other side that was one huge sand dune. Beautiful. After checking into our comfortable B&B we walked along the beach to the Copthorne Hotel, sat outside on the decking and enjoyed a beer and the views across the harbour. Then off on a night walk in the Waipoua Forest with Matthew, our local Maori guide. On the ride out to the start of our walk he told us about himself: a world traveller, who had even worked on our cross-channel ferries, now returned to his roots. He then had each of us tell our own story! A very engaging and amusing guy. Matthew explained aspects of Maori history and culture and told us some of the Maori stories about their ancient gods. These tales were relevant for our visit to the forest to see the kauri trees. Before the British arrived in NZ the natural forest contained many native kauri trees. These trees can grow very tall, when challenged by the vegetation that surrounds them. As they grow upwards they discard their lower branches. These trees made excellent masts for British ships and timber for wooden houses in the developing British colonies of the 18th and 19th centuries. After over a century of logging most of these fine trees had been felled without replacement. Today only 1% of the original kauri trees remain. It was good to learn that there is a reforestation programme underway, in a few areas of NZ, that should in time go some way towards restoring the numbers of kauri. For the Maori the largest kauri have special significance to them. Matthew took us to see the oldest and the tallest kauri trees. On approaching these trees he spoke out loudly, in the Maori language then in English, words of greeting and reverence and introducing us as visitors coming to admire the trees. It was a moving, magical even spiritual experience; the tallest kauri, Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) was just a youngster at 2,000 years old as the oldest kauri, Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest) was 3,500 years old!!