Giant trunks
Red-brown.
Panamitsu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Panamitsu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Panamitsu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Panamitsu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Panamitsu — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Redwoods Forest in Rotorua is a grove of giant Californian coast redwoods, their straight red-brown trunks soaring high above green tree ferns and quiet shaded paths. The trees were first planted in 1901 as a timber-industry trial to see whether they would grow commercially in New Zealand. The original planting was 12 ha, of which 6 ha survive today, and some trees have passed 70 m in height. In 2009 the forest was returned to the ownership of the local iwi, Ngāti Whakaue, as part of Treaty of Waitangi settlements. You walk free trails of different lengths among the trees, or climb onto the Redwoods Treewalk, a series of suspension bridges between the trunks opened in 2015 and lit with lanterns at night. The wider Whakarewarewa Forest around the grove is also a well-known mountain-biking area, with trails for every level. It is about 3 km in a straight line southeast of central Rotorua.
Red-brown.
Among the trees.
At night.
Long Mile Road, Whakarewarewa Forest, Rotorua
The forest yes; the Treewalk is ticketed.
By day or at night with lanterns.