Swamp Kauri is today found in grassland once kauri forests, after the underground deposit has been located, samples are taken and dated with system Carbon 14 at the Waikato University. Age of the logs ranges between 7.000 and over 50.000 years along with different ages we can appreciate differences in the colour. The excavation is very difficult and the working condition are far from ideal, indeed the work is done in swampy areas and the enormous dimensions of the logs make the task even harder for the caterpillars used for the operations. Often the logs are really big (200/300 tons of weight) in these cases the operators are forced to cut the trees in sections to be able to bring the Kauri in the yard.

Kauri is one of the biggest tree of the world in terms of cubic meters of the trunk and no other species is available in such dimensions, consequently there are no equipments around that can handle for the cut similar sizes. No machine can work with a tree that reaches more than 20 meters of length and more than 5 meters width, consequently to satisfy the requests of the Italian market the ingenious “Kiwis” have thought out an orbital system of cutting utilizing a simple chainsaw and a steel guide, reducing to a minimum the moving of the big log. Every cut is very time consuming and requires one day two men full time, it is very important and very difficult to maintain an even thickness of the cut. Furthermore it is not easy the handling of the slabs once they have been cut, indeed they are extraordinarily long and really heavy, each weight between 3 and 4 tons.

During winter the wet weather and the swampy terrain force the operators to wait until the dry season for the digging activity, while the cold moths are used to work the material and produce finished products. To bring the log to the surface there is a large use of caterpillars and excavators, after this operation the trunks are normally cut in sections to make the transport easier. Only after the opening of the Italian market there has been the need to think how to excavate the Kauris in one piece. New techniques have been tried and finalized by the smart New Zealanders showing the best of the famous “Kiwi ingenuity” arriving to build even new roads for transport in the swamps.