Otari-Wilton's Bush

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Otari-Wilton's Bush is New Zealand's largest botanic garden dedicated solely to native plants. The gardens area has well over 1000 plants growing in a carefully designed 5 hectare area. Beyond that, Otari-Wilton's Bush has an area of almost 100 hectares of native forest endemic to the Wellington area. This includes most of the remnants of the mature podocarp forest that once cloaked all of Wellington and the surrounding hills. Most of it was cleared for farming and development around the 1860s.

Otari-Wilton's Bush is located on the edge of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. It is a ten minute drive from the city centre, and entry is free, any time of the day or night. As well as the vast array of native plants, several native birds can also be seen. There are over 10 kilometres of tracks, ranging from wheelchair paths to rough 'goat tracks', that can be used to explore the area.

The first part of the reserve to be protected was a small area of forest that was fenced off from stock by a far-sighted local farmer, Job Wilton, in 1860. Many parts of the current Otari-Wilton's Bush reserve have been designated as reserve by the New Zealand government and Wellington City Council. The plant collections, started in 1926, were the brainchild of eminent botanist Dr Leonard Cockayne.

For more information about Otari-Wilton's Bush, refer to Otari-Wilton's Bush