We unearthed our walking boots and went for our first proper tramp in NZ today. We met up with Robyn and Mary and were taken by Mike in his minivan up to our starting point on the far side of the island. The first part of the walk was stunning as it took us through windy canyon with its vertical sides speckled with obsidian, up and down some small peaks and up to the top of mount Hobson, 627 metres. The last part of the climb up to the top was up a very scenic raised staircase, built to protect the nesting sites of black petrels and winding up through a thick forested glen. I have never climbed to the top of a peak up a staircase before! The views from the top were spectacular - we could see all of Barrier Island and also across the Hauraki gulf to the Coramandel peninsula.

After lunch on the top we went back along a rather slippery and steep path which followed a river valley down. We came across the remains of a kauri dam, and after about an hour to the main kauri dam shown in this photo. The whole of Great Barrier Island was more or less totally deforested between 1796 and 1942, when the logging of kauri trees finally was stopped. Because the kauri tree grows so straight it was widely used for ship masts. Many of the trees were up to 2 thousand years old when they were felled. The British Navy took a large consignment of timber from here. When the lower slopes were exhausted, logging took place higher and higher up the peaks, and the loggers got the timber down from the highest levels by using a series of dams to produce high water flows which washed the timber down the river to the coast. There are still isolated kauri trees in the forest - mainly ones which branched low down and were no use for timber. However, the kauri trees are growing again and there are now some stands of quite sizeable ones.

We greatly enjoyed our walk and (Kerry) we had plenty of sunshine and no rain.