Whirinaki Forest

Hands down one of my most favorite places in New Zealand. A total fluke that we found it as well. I happened to be perusing Pinterest one evening and found a picture of the canyon just below and about died. I decided I had to see it! After some serious research we figured out where it was and set a date to go.

It is one of the few native forests left in New Zealand. The trees were huge and beautiful. Kind of like the redwoods meet the rain forest. It was pure eye candy. And, it actually turned out to be a fabulous fishing river for Todd as well. I also learned that one should never grab a New Zealand palm tree for stability when going down a hill. Seriously, it pulls out of the ground like a blade of grass. Hello tumbling down the hillside!

Getting a picture of this canyon was a real trick. My first attempt involved straddling a wet mossy tree way out into the middle of a big rushing river. (Didn't really love the angle on that one.) My second attempt went much better and was probably less precarious. It involved walking out into the middle of the cold river (thigh deep) with John strapped to my back. In hind site I probably should have left him with Todd just in case. :) The picture was totally worth it though!!