It is not a particularly impressive or rare tree, but a willow planted at the southern end of Lake Wānaka in New Zealand could be the most photographed tree on the planet, thanks to the rise of Instagram.
It has several hashtags dedicated to it, including #wanakatree (51.9K posts) and #thatwanakatree (82.5K posts), and had its first proper taste of fame in 2014, when Dennis Radermacher won the New Zealand Geographic photo of the year award with an image of it.
That Wānaka Tree, as it is now known, is a small crack willow tree (Salix fragilis), reportedly planted over 70 years ago by Tim Scur as a fence post.
Although it is not a particularly rare tree - found across the UK, Europe and Western Asia - this little specimen shot to fame due to its location.
The tree grows alone in the water, with the beautiful backdrop of Lake Wānaka in the Otago region of New Zealand. It is surrounded by mountains and huge skies.
Sadly, due to its popularity, the Wānaka Tree has not had the easiest of lives. Tourists sometimes climb on it, and in 2020 it was vandalised, with several limbs being sawn off.
Visitors are asked to not get too close to the tree, as standing on its roots will damage it. Instead, appreciate it from a distance – and be sure to take all rubbish away with you.
