Big Rimu Walk | |
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Length | 1.1 km (0.68 mi) |
Location | Kahurangi National Park, New Zealand |
Trailheads | Umere Road |
Use | Nature walk |
Highest point | 80 m (260 ft) |
Difficulty | Easy |
Season | Year round |
Sights | large rimu tree, native bush |
Maintained by | Department of Conservation |
The Big Rimu Walk is a nature trail near Karamea, located in Kahurangi National Park on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. A short walk of 1.1 kilometres (0.68 mi)[1] through regenerating bush leads to a large rimu tree (Dacrydium cupressinum) that is 36 metres (118 ft) tall with a trunk over two metres (6 ft 7 in) in diameter and estimated to be over 1,000 years old. Other smaller rimu in the area were logged during the 1940s but this large tree was left.[2]
The regenerating forest is dominated by kāmahi and nīkau, but there are also small rimu trees emerging. The large rimu itself has a northern rātā vine on the trunk, with extensive rātā foliage in the canopy. The tree hosts a large collection of epiphytes. One notable feature of the track to the large rimu is the presence of Dawsonia—a giant moss—growing alongside the track.[2]