New Zealand has a ridiculous number of ferns. something like over 200 species. I adore them. I haven’t quite pinpointed what I love about them so much. It could be the fronds, the tight little curled form of the young leaves. These unfurl as they mature and stretch out to become long elegant leaves. The fronds of the fern are of course that coil of the fern is what had inspired the infamous ‘Koru’ symbol or logo. Also our ponga or silver treee fern is our national symbol. When you look at the underside of the leaves, it really is silver.

The ferns in New Zealand range from 10 meter high tree ferns to tiny ferns of only a few millimeters in length.  Fourty percent of the ferns in New Zealand are found no where else in the world! Respect. On this South Island adventure of a lifetime I have been loving seeing all the ferns growing along the side of the road and growing around waterfalls and in crevices on tall trees.

Here are a few shots of some of the stunning fronds i have found so far on this holiday: