A mishandled jewel in the center of the North Island: the beautiful forest surrounds of Mt. Tarawera. Target of hordes of noisy tourists with ever increasing level of water pollution the the Tarawera River and Lake Tarawera, this forest features a unique combination of mosses, shrubs, trees, growing on lava soil that sometimes still vents sulphuric smells. With the Tarawera River flowing through this wonderland, creating the Tarawera Falls. Unfortunately, right adjacent to this remainder of native forest, pine tree clearcut encroaches right up the park boundary. The forest is seriously endangered by droughts, pests, pollution and reckless crowds that descend from the Tarawera Outlet campsite.
