Story: Hauraki–Coromandel region

On 21 November Cook and a few of his crew explored up the Waihou River, which he named the Thames. In the course of the expedition they came across a tree that had its first branch 27 metres above the ground. Kauri trees were prominent in the adjacent ranges, but uncommon on the lowlands, where this specimen was sighted. It was probably a kahikatea, the most common canopy tree in swampy lowlands.