Rotorua Redwoods

[Ianab]

After our visit to the Peterson factory we did the budget sightseeing drive around Rotorua and went and checked out the grove of Redwood trees on the outskirts of the city.
These were planted about 100 years ago as part of experiments by the government foresty service on what trees were best for forestry in NZ. Although the trees at this particular site grew very well the tree seems very selective about growing sites and only seems to grow well in microclimate areas.



Tree hugger.. or am I checking to see if it will fit on the mill  ???



Theses things are TALL, the trunks go all the way to the top   ;D



This as a view of one of the big trees, can you see Lil.. check the closeup. 



Remember these trees are only about 100 years old.. pretty cool 

Cheers

Ian

[SwampDonkey]

Wow, they sure grew well in 100 years. I also noticed your ferns, they're growing like palm trees. ;D Are the redwood producing seed yet?

[Ianab]

Yup.. the tree ferns are part of the NZ landscape, they grow in any open spot in the forest or scrub, I've even got a couple growing down the back of the garden  :D

We did see a few seedling / sapling sized redwoods coming up on the side of the tracks etc, so I guess they are seeding.

Cheers

Ian

[Mooseherder]

Holy Rotorua!
Dat ain't fittin on da mill.

[solodan]

Ian,
Are those coastal redwoods? cause  a coastal redwood will regenerate without seed.

just a clipping stuck in the ground will regenerate a coastal. The sierra redwood is different though, it needs proper seed germination to regenerate.

[Ianab]

Yes.. They are coast redwood.

It's not a natural forest, it's an expiremental plantation. But as it's now a tourist attraction I imagine the trees will be left there for a very long time and will only get bigger

Ian

[Part_Timer]

It'll fit under the mill

Ian has a swinger.

[mdvaden]

I will be going to the redwood forest near here, just a 2 hour drive.

The past several month, I've been finding different trails to hike on. I've been down there every other week. Tomorrow will be anther visit, even if the rain comes.

I'm just starting to piece together an image album - the last frame is  tiny video...

Redwood Forest Album

In slideshow mode, there's tiny text under each frame with can enlarge the images to near full screen size.

[sprucebunny]

Wecome to the forum, mdvaden.

Beautiful album of the redwoods and mushrooms  8) 8) 8)

I have the same camera and enjoy finding similar shots.

[Ianab]

Hi MD

Yup, those big old redwoods you have are something I would like to see one day. Being an introduced tree in this part of the world we only have baby ones  ;)
The local Kauri pine do come close to the Redwoods in girth (but not in height) and they are pretty impressive.

Cheers

Ian

[mdvaden]

It will be tempting to drive to the Oregon Caves National Monument tomorrow on the way back from the Redwoods. I drive through Cave Junction, Oregon both ways.

The caves are only like 15 minutes south off Hy. 199 which runs between Grants Pass, Oregon and Crescent City, CA, near where there Redwoods are.

What I'd like to see near the caves this time, is not the cave tour, but the old growth. The largest Douglas fir tree in Oregon is supposed to be there, just a short hike from the parking lot.

I was surprised to learn that, as I expected that the largest D. fir would be in the north Oregon coast. The largest Sitka Spruce in Oregon is up north.

It's the photo displayed on my albums main page...

Main Album Page

Now, I hear that Washington state is supposed to have a contender for the largest Sitka spruce too, although I think it's a bit wider, but not as massive.

It was dissappointing that they put the deck in front of Oregon's big Sitka. Not that they put it there, since is prevents soil compaction, but that they put it right in front.

The view from the front - seeing the tree spread it's massive roots - was memorable.

They could have run smaller ramps from both sides, and put a small fence across the front instead.