This 32 meter northern rata tree, Metrosideros robusta, is named "Stride of New Zealand" for obvious reasons. It won the annual competition for New Zealand's tree of the year. It has earned the moniker of "The Walking Tree" due to its resemblance to the sentient Ents of JRR Tolkien's fantasies [illustration below]. It began life as an epiphyte and eventually grew roots into that ground and enveloped the original host. Rata trees can survive for a thousand years. This specimen has bee known since 1875 when settlers cleared the land, but left the tree standing in a Karamea field. Stride received more votes than another much-loved and photographed tree, a willow growing out of Lake Wānaka. The competition celebrates the importance of trees in Kiwis' lives, and the stories surrounding these living legends.
Ratas are becoming rare on the island. Three old ratas were uprooted by a regional council to make way for improvements to a flood control dike. Another toppled due to high winds. Given that their roots are not very strong, Stride could be next to go; it is not on the register of protected trees. A local said he fears that Stride could be cut for firewood given its location on New Zealand's wilder west coast. A development official said that 84% of the region's land is in a conservation zone. The competition winner was announced on June 5th, New Zealand's Arbor Day.
