Kaingaroa Forest covers 2,900 square kilometres (1,100 sq mi) of the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand, and is the largest forest plantation in New Zealand, and the second largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The forest stretches from Lake Taupō in the south to Kawerau to the north and has roughly 20 million trees. The headquarters of the forest are at the small settlement of Kaingaroa, Bay of Plenty, 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of Rotorua. Prior to planting the area was a tussock and scrub plateau, formed on volcanic ash.