The official Goblin Forest is known as the Kāmahi Loop Track, which starts at the Stratford Mountain House – on the eastern slopes of the Taranaki mountain.

Mt Taranaki, one of the most symmetrical volcanoes in the world, violently erupted around 400 years ago, and it wiped out the rimu forest that once hugged the mountain. Since then, the kāmahi tree has become dominant, growing on the stumps and logs left over from the eruption. The result is a labyrinth of twisted trunks, all covered in a thick dewy moss that looks like it’s home to hobbits, goblins, and gremlins.

This place is the very definition of gnarly: trees twist and turn like ancient moss-covered fingers reaching from the depths of the soil. The light darts around the thick canopy, creating a muted glow as it makes its way to the forest floor.

Another popular excursion in this area is the walk to Wilkies Pools, formed by a 20,000-year-old lava flow, a series of natural plunge pools formed by the scouring action of water-borne sand and gravel. In summer, you might be tempted to have a swim here – it will be brisk, but very refreshing.

There is active predator control inside the park and an aim to bring possums, rodents, hares, and mustelids down to low densities, protecting birdlife, invertebrates, and the forest itself.

According to the Internet