My happy place - the Whirinaki Forest.

The Whirinaki Forest is one of my favourite places in New Zealand. We try to spend at least a week every year walking the tracks there. The contractors working for the Department of Conservation are doing a great job of looking after the area. We see more and more bird life every year we go and I even heard a kiwi calling one evening when I made a late visit to the outside toilet. There are many great walks in this area but one of my favourites is the Arohaki Lagoon Track. The predominant species for much of the walk is tawa. These beautiful trees with their bright green leaves cast a magical green light through the forest which I love and if the lagoon happens to be full when you arrive, the sound of croaking frogs is quite amazing.