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Kōrero: Taranaki places

Goblin forest, Dawson Falls

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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.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Private collection

by Caren Wilton

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Ron Lambert, Taranaki places – Te Papa Kura o Taranaki (formerly Egmont National Park), Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/25930/goblin-forest-dawson-falls (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Ron Lambert, i tāngia i te 23 February 2010, updated 1 September 2016.