Takapuna Fossil Forest

How is a beach a forest and a volcano all at once?

In Takapuna, where many of the landforms are throwbacks to the eruption of Mount Pupuke, there are clues as to what may have been here before, and one of these clues is the fossilised forest between Takapuna Beach and O'Neill's bay.
Volcanic rocks here are dotted with holes, these would have been where the lava formed around tree trunks. Curiously, some of the trees were not even burned during the volcanic prosess, and lumps of black (fossilised and carbonised) wood have been found in them and near them. At one stage lumps of kauri gum also washed up onto the beach, indicating that further fossilised forests may be 'buried' offshore.

The 1995 report by Bruce and Jessica Hayward explains all, and GeoTrips explains how to visit. And when you do, please consider sending us a picture.

Just north of the fossil forest, look out for the Sacred Trees, which are still living, providing a link to centuries gone by.

Image Credit: Celia Walker