Photo: suppliedPhilip Barker's Christmas wish of finding big trees has come true after he located massive matai and kahikatea trees near Lake Brunner and Lake Kaniere. Westland's rainfall and rich forest soil grows big trees. And on the West Coast they remain, while elsewhere in the country such trees have long been felled, Mr Barker said. His first recent find this summer was a clutch of very large matai near Lake Kaniere a couple of weeks ago. A more recent trip to an area near Lake Brunner revealed "absolutely enormous trees".

Source: Otago Daily Times December 30, 2019 15:45 UTC