The sea-washed rock terrace here is the original floor of a Jurassic forest, dating back some 160 million years. The sub-tropical forest of kauri and lesser trees such as cyclads and conifers flourished at a time when grasses and flowering plants had not evolved. It was overwhelmed in a massive volcanic eruption that buried the forest in a flood of ash. The land subsequently disappeared beneath the sea and when the present landmass re-emerged, sea action cut back the sandstone formed by the volcanic ash to reveal petrified broken logs lying on the ancient forest's floor, and stumps still in their original positions of growth. Fossil forests of this age are rare throughout the world and this one is absolutely protected. Signposted. Walk down the track at low tide and across the shelf, the old forest floor. The fossilised forest remnants, very low stumps and fallen logs, are not immediately apparent but are readily recognisable once one becomes accustomed to the formations embedded in the rock shelf.