A Kiwi Icon ... really

"In primeval New Zealand cabbage trees occupied a range of habitats, anywhere open, moist, fertile and warm enough for them to establish and mature: with forest; around the rocky coast; in lowland swamps, around the lakes and along the lower rivers; and perched on isolated rocks. Approaching the land from the sea would have reminded a Polynesian traveller of home, and for a European traveller, conjured up images of the tropical Pacific."  - Philip Simpson

I knew this was a shot I really wanted to hunt down while I was home in New Zealand. 

The Cabbage Tree is probably my favourite tree in the whole entire world ...and it has berries that attract exquisite native birds like the Bellbirds and Tuis.

I found these trees in front of Lake Taupo, up in the North Island, and wandered around it awhile, trying to work out just how to capture this New Zealand scene I so wanted to capture.