Waipoua Forest together with the Waima and Mataraua Forests is the largest remaining tract of native forest left in Northland. Situated on the central western side of the North Auckland Peninsula, at the top of the North Island of New Zealand. The forest is located on State Highway 12, on the Twin Coast Discovery Route, between Dargaville and Opua. The Waipoua Forest is a 9105 hectare sanctuary, created in 1952 to preserve the last ruminants of an ancient kauri forest, which once covered most of Northland and The Coromandel Peninsula.