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Photo: Akos Kokai, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
100 hectare botanic garden of native forest.
Ōtari-Wilton's Bush is a native botanic garden and forest reserve located in the suburb of Wilton in Wellington, New Zealand. It is New Zealand's only public botanic garden dedicated solely to the native plants of New Zealand. The reserve includes 100 ha of native forest, and 5 ha of plant collections. The first section of what would become Ōtari-Wilton's Bush was purchased in 1906 by the government and designated as a scenic reserve. The first director of the reserve was botanist Leonard Cockayne, who alongside John Gretton Mackenzie established the Ōtari Open-Air Native Plant Museum in 1926. The forest in the reserve contains some of the oldest trees in Wellington, including an 800-year-old rimu. The reserve holds a broad range of plants, with one bioblitz recording nearly 500 species of vascular plants, liverworts, mosses and lichens. In addition to its extensive flora, the reserve also hosts a wide range of fauna, including notable species such as ornate skink, longfin eel and glowworm. The reserve undergoes regular pest control to minimise the effects of invasive species such as possums and rats. Due to its diverse plant collection and reserve biodiversity, scientific research is regularly conducted at Ōtari-Wilton. Ōtari-Wilton's Bush is owned and managed by Wellington City Council and is supported by the Ōtari-Wilton's Bush Trust.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
An interesting picnic spot.
The Victorian house where the author Katherine Mansfield was born, and lived for her first five years. The house is furnished as it would have been in the 1890s.
Watch out for the friendly black cat who haunts this hillside cemetery. If you're returning from the Botanic Gardens by foot, this is a great place to meander through and check out the epitaphs of early pioneers and historical figures. Between 1968 and 1971, over 3700 bodies were controversially exhumed to make way for motorway construction; their remains are now in an underground vault below the Early Settlers Memorial Lawn. At the Bolton Street entrance, the former mortuary chapel, reconstructed after the motorway, has information on the cemetery history and guide leaflets if you want to explore further.
Large Anglican church built between 1954 and 1998. The cathedral is a relatively plain design, made of reinforced concrete, and has some fine stained glass. A farmer's market is held in the car park on Saturday mornings.
Home of New Zealand's lawmakers and leaders, the complex consists of four building: the Beehive (or Executive Wing), Parliament House, the Parliamentary Library and Bowen House. The grounds of Parliament are open to the public, and free tours of the buildings are available from the visitor centre located between the Beehive and Parliament House. Depending on parliamentary business, tours may include a visit to the House of Representatives debating chamber and the Select Committee rooms. For security reasons, you need to leave all your belongings at the visitor centre and clear a checkpoint.
The library regularly holds exhibitions.