Where tree climbing takes you…
Cicada mid flight in front of Matai
Although I currently live in Great Britain, I was on holiday in New Zealand earlier this year and as GOTC members know, a holiday is incomplete without a bit of tree climbing! Although known for its a laid back life style, great surfing and The Hobbit, NZ is also a land where landscape forms part of political debate.
The Pureora Forest, a National Park in the centre of the North Island has long played a part in local and international politics. In pre European times, trees in the Pureora marked the division of land between local Maori Iwi. In the 1970s it was the focus of tree top anti logging protests by conservationists. Currently the land surrounding the forest is in the news because it has been sold to a Chinese company with the approval of the current government.
Lone tree and Toi Toi
In spite of its turbulent history the Pureora is an amazingly tranquil place. Off the main tourist map, the forest has ancient specimens of many native trees including Totara (Podocarpus totara), Matai (Prumnopitys taxifolia) and Horopito (Pseudowintera colorata). Some are over 1000 years old and over 30m high. The trees are crammed with character and host to epiphytes as well as superb bird and insect life.
In February we were on a mission – to help one of the orginal Pureora protestors Stephen King establish a route into the trees for future television filming. I headed to the forest with local tree climbing legend Andy Harrison, creator of the Harrison Rocket.
Permission had been granted by the local Maori tribe for us to climb the trees, but it took us over an hour just to get to the base of the trees. Once there the challenge continued!
I started with a 30m solo climb in a Matai. I used a standard DRT system. This proved to be quite an effort as it seemed every convenient anchor point was home to an epiphytic plant of one kind or another.
Forest Totara
Picking my way around the tree I managed to reach a final anchor at the top of the tree with spectacular views over the forest and the nearby Totara that Andy and Stephen were up.
Spot the tree climber!
After a leisurely descent I went up the chunky Totara to join Andy and Stephen. This Totara had been used extensively during the protests and still bore the scars of nails and even a bit of wood from the temporary platform erected for the protest.
It rains quite alot in the UK, in fact this year has been the wettest on record. I dream about sunny days in the forest in New Zealand. Climbing in the Pureora on a summers day sums up the best things that tree climbing has given me; experiencing landscape in a unique way, working with amazing people, the chance to climb in challenging trees and, as I was in NZ – the chance for the best ice cream in the world on the way home:
A bit of Hokey Pokey & Cookies and Cream!