"In centuries gone by, this whole land was cloaked with virgin forest, from the hilltops and slopes right down through the valleys to the ocean shores. It was the natural home of countless birds and reptiles large and small – part of a unique fragment of land with its unique inhabitants, broken off from the great primeval continent of Gondwana. Before the arrival of man there was no predator to disturb the balance of this natural Eden.

  "To the north lies the Valley of the Twelve Apostles, and beyond it, the deep, secret harbour of Whangaroa. To the east, the land dips sharply to plunge into the Pacific Ocean at the golden, curving beach of Matauri. To the west, hills roll and stretch away to the fringes of the mighty forest remnant – the Puketi, where Kauri giants may mercifully still slumber through the hot, hazy summers and drink their fill in the winter's damp."

This site, our business, and all sites linked here, are concerned with wilderness and natural values.

Patricia Howitt - Webmistress