Why a Kauri Love Site is a great eco-friendly choice for your Wedding.

There are many rituals that can be included in a wedding ceremony and celebration, and a Kauri Love Site is an eco-friendly extension of one of those traditional wedding rituals.   Activities such as handfasting, candle lighting, tying the knot, breaking the bottle of champagne and planting a tree have been around for years.  The added bonus of our Kauri Love Site, is that it adds a touch of eco-friendliness to your wedding.

What is a Kauri Love Site?

A Kauri Love site is a special little spot in the bush at Warblers Retreat.  It has been selected especially for planting a Kauri tree by the couple who are getting married.  This is particularly significant as it’s a way of marking a whole new beginning,.  By planting a tree you are giving back to the environment, and you are helping to restore some of the forest that was destroyed by our early settlers.

How does it work?

You don’t need to bring anything, just yourselves, we provide it all.  

On the day after the wedding, we find an appropriate place in the forest for you to plant your tree. Having the planting ceremony on the day following your wedding gives you quality time to reflect on your vows and your commitment to each other. Taking time out to be in nature, and to physically give back by planting a tree, is a very fulfilling task. It is also a great way of signifying the foundations of a whole new beginning.  

A small metal plague is made by Dave.  Your names are handcrafted onto it along with the date of your wedding.  This is hung on the tree.  This now becomes your Kauri Love Site, and you are welcome to come and spend time here, whenever you want to, or need to.  We only ask for a courtesy call or text prior to visiting.

Why a Kauri Tree?

The Kauri tree is among the world’s mightiest trees, often growing up to 50m tall.  It’s the girth of the Kauri tree that is often so very impressive; in a fully grown Kauri it can be up to 16 metres in diameter.  New Zealand’s Largest Kauri tree is Tane Mahuta, which is located in Northland, and is often referred to as, the God of the Forest’’.  Tane Mahuta is thought to be over 2,000 years old.  The Kauri tree is the giant of our New Zealand forests.  

Maori used to use the trunks of the Kauri tree for boat building, whare building and for carving.  The sap, or gum that bleeds from the Kauri was used for lighting fires, and as a kind of chewing gum.  When the European’s arrived, the demand for Kauri trunks and Kauri gum increased as they continually devised new means of extracting both the trunks and the gum on much larger scales.  At that time, in the 1860’s onwards, the demand for these materials was high.  Many Kauri logs were shipped overseas to make ship masts.  It was used for house building and making furniture, while the sap was used for making resin, varnishes and jewellery.  Both the trunks and sap were in very high demand.   

Why Kauri trees at Warblers Retreat?

Here, at Warblers Retreat there were once, tall stands of Kauri that extended right throughout the Valley.  In the 1860s through to the turn of the century, the early European settlers who had arrived in the area, many of whom had moved down from Northland, chopped down the majority of the trees.  Albany and Cuthill quickly became home camps for the early settlers, where they based themselves while working hard, to extract the Kauri trunks and the Kauri gum.  They had very little means.

Much of the land was then fully cleared to make way for farming.  The hills were stripped of the larger trees and bush, while the gullies tended not to be touched quite so much.  Since the 1960s, the land has been regenerating, and now provides a great protection for young Kauri and other endemic native species to be replanted.

It only seems fitting, to replace what was taken from the land all those years ago.  There is the odd stand of Kauri trees on neighbouring land, however it is our efforts here and now, your eco-friendly choice, that will help us to replace what was taken all those years ago.  

Recycled Kauri Timber

We discovered some old used kauri boards under a local house while on a landscaping job.  The kind owners let us have the timber and it has been used in the Canopy and around the Pioneer Glamping site.  It has been used mainly as a decorative timber in places such as the framing of the large blackboards, framing on a gate and as feature boards in the glamping area.  Dave has used every piece of kauri timber he can, wasting none of this precious timber.  We believe it is very fitting to have some recycled Kauri on the property after so much had been taken all those years ago.

Kauri Dieback Disease

Just like the pandemic, the Kauri trees are not immune to disease.  The Kauri dieback disease is present in Kauri trees in Northland and in and around Albany.  Many tracks have been closed in the Waitakere Ranges due to this.  Just like Covid-19, we do not wish to have this disease at Warblers Retreat, and we ask that anyone walking into the forest, sprays their footwear with an antiseptic solution, prior to entering.  

The Importance of Being Connected to Nature

Being in a forest is good for your body and soul.  Mankind has always had an innate connection to nature, it’s only been in these more recent years, that the connection has slowly been diminishing for many, mainly due to our modern lifestyles.   The connection to nature helps us to relax, to unwind and to feel disconnected to all the clutter in the outside world.  To feel connected to nature helps you to be in touch with your soul.  What better way to give back to nature by planting a symbolic New Zealand tree, totally surrounded by nature, where the two of you can feel totally relaxed, where there’s no outside interference.  This moment is destined to be one of the most significant moments in your life.  A moment that you can reflect on, in times of good and bad, and a place you can come to when you really want to, or need to.

Your Love Site is helping Our Environment

Just like our native Kiwi bird, after 20 million years, our mighty Kauri tree is also facing extinction.  By planting a Kauri tree, you are not only creating a special Love Site for yourselves, you are helping to restore our NZ native forest.  It’s a wonderful way of showing, You Care’.  We thank you greatly for your eco-friendly choice for your wedding.