I am incredibly tired, but I am very happy about the talk I gave for the Northland astronomical society, and I saw giant Kauri trees, and I saw a real kiwi up close! (Captive, part of a breeding program, but WOW he was active!) A good day.
#ProfSamLectureTour
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It was really almost a religious experience to be so close to such massive, ancient trees.
There's a disease that kills these (kauri dieback disease) and they had boot cleaning/sanitizing before you could walk on the paths up to the huge trees. We talked to a park employee who told us they use whale ingredients to treat sick trees, that comes from beached whales. He said it's "little brother coming to give medicine to big brother." Beautiful.
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@sundogplanets I know the "almost religious experience" feeling, having recently had the enormous good fortune to walk in the Bornean rainforest, with the highest diversity of Dipterocarp trees. It's impossible to decide what to be more impressed by: each individual tree (and there are many that are both enormous and beautiful), the resulting assemblage, or the enormous complex web of life the forest supports, everywhere you look. Very humbling.
@sundogplanets this one is about 15 years old and has a long way to go 🙂
Keep an eye out for horoeka (lancewoods) and see if you can spot them changing shape as they grow. This might be to having evaded moa browsing
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-plants/lancewood-horoeka/
@sundogplanets @vapaad Oooh! I’d heard you were visiting (moving??). Welcome!
@sundogplanets woah! And the whale story is awesome too.
@sundogplanets is that Tāne Mahuta?
Staring up at a tree that is estimated at between 1250 and 2500 years old is an amazing experience.
@sundogplanets seeing them and walking the those paths was even better than seeing the Redwoods for me. And thank you for sharing the story of how they treat them—I clearly didn’t ask enough questions. The way the kauri are so full of not only their own life, but covered in their own unique ecosystem is just magnificent!
@sundogplanets So envious! I would love to see them in person.
@sundogplanets Kiwi pics please!
@sundogplanets I love kiwis! The bird, the fruit and the NZers (in that order - sorry!)
@sundogplanets Out of all the things I saw in NZ the kauri trees had the most impact. I stood in wonder. I swear they're sentient..
@sundogplanets Kiwis are funny little guys aren't they? They run around like a marionette bird puppet, the kind with no wings and just long, spindly legs. They're also in the same family as ratites such as Ostrich and Emus and unfortunately for lady Kiwi, they lay massive eggs just like their cousins, despite being many times smaller. Seriously a Kiwi egg is only a little smaller than an Ostrich egg! 😰
@sundogplanets pretty amazing
Was going to make a cheeky remark about a very active kiwi in a breeding program. Northland is definitely a special place. 😎
@sundogplanets if you want to have a go seeing them in the wild and have time: Trounson Kauri Park campground has a short walking trail where you will generally see kiwi in the dark