West Coast 2

The native forest has many layers, beginning with a magical collection of delicate plants and ferns covering the ground and ending with majestic trees hundreds of years old. The gnarled trunks (often festooned with lichens, ferns and other parasitic plants) and cauliflower shaped tops of the Kauri tree, which can live for 2,000 years, rise well above the heads of everything else.

The story of the discovery and settlement of  New Zealand is one of heroism, strength and perseverence. But the destruction of the forests in the process was a tragedy.

At Ships Creek we wandered through a small area of forest that has survived. In it were some Kahikatea trees. These white pines can also grow for more than 1,000 years and are very straight and tall.
Before the settlors arrived New Zealand was covered in forests of Kahikatea. When James Cook saw them he thought at first that such great trees could be used for ship building but discovered the wood was too soft for the purpose. The Kahikateas survived.
But then the trade in dairy produce boomed. The arrival of refrigeration in particular meant that produce could be preserved long enough to be shipped to European markets. The search began for suitable packaging. And so a use had been found for the white pine of the Kahikateas.

Once again the land was plundered with abandon and it was not long before only a few small pockets remained of Kahikateas.
It took only decades to destroy the trees that had taken thousands of years to grow.