I went for a hike today in the Otari-Wilton’s Bush, a nature park in Wellington dedicated to restoring native plants and trees, that is pretty rugged and remote despite its being in the city. I had planned on hiking a loop trail that would have lasted two hours. But it seemed that some parts of the trail were closed off for repairs. I took a different path that led me to an 800-year old rimu tree (red pine), a tree native to New Zealand. This tree was already 400 years old when Captain Cook showed up in 1769 to claim New Zealand for Britain. (Why did they not kill him when they had the chance?) It was 500 years old when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 in which the Maoris ceded to the Crown their sovereignty and their right to lands, but did not know it. The tree wept that day. The tree has seen the Maori regain their rights a little at a time and get compensation for and recognition of their losses. Who knows what it might see in the future if climate change does not kill it first?
A Yank Among the Kiwis 