The lush Waitākere Ranges that line the western ridge of Auckland City, known as Tāmaki Makaurau, are home to some of the country’s most precious native flora, including Aotearoa New Zealand’s hallowed native tree, the kauri (Agathis australis).
For over five years, the walking tracks that lace through dense forest covering these hills have been closed to the public, placed under rāhui (a cultural ban on human entry) in a race against time to save the trees from kauri dieback, a devastating pathogen irreversibly destroying the population.
