Story: Taranaki places

Goblin forest, Dawson Falls (2nd of 3)

Goblin forest, Dawson Falls

Many of the kāmahi trees in the montane ‘goblin forest’ at Dawson Falls have contorted and intertwined trunks as the result of beginning life growing on stumps and logs of trees killed by some of the last ash-shower eruptions from Mt Taranaki, about 1655 CE. Their twisted trunks host an abundance of filmy ferns, and their branches are festooned with the hanging moss Weymouthia mollis. On the ground are other ferns, including the spectacular Prince of Wales feathers.

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Photograph by Caren Wilton

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How to cite this page:

Ron Lambert, 'Taranaki places - Egmont National Park', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/25930/goblin-forest-dawson-falls (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Ron Lambert, updated 1 Sep 2016