Nau mai haere mai ki Ōtari

Welcome to Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush: New Zealand’s only public botanic garden dedicated solely to native plants, and one hundred hectares of ancient and regenerating forest, all of it just a few kilometres from Wellington’s CBD.

Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush is designated a six-star Garden of International Significance by the New Zealand’s Gardens Trust of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture.

It encompasses the five hectare Ōtari Native Botanic Garden, the single largest collection of New Zealand native species, and Wilton’s Bush, original podocarp/northern rātā forest that’s one of the few remnants of the forest once common across Wellington Peninsula.

Walking trails and paths traverse the plant collections, forests and streams. Native birdlife is prolific. People who visit Ōtari include botanists and conservation scientists, garden enthusiasts, education groups, friends and families, along with our community of Trust volunteers who work in myriad ways to help care for this special place.

The Tāne Whakapiripiri Visitor Centre is open daily, while the neighbouring Leonard Cockayne Centre is available for hire for small meetings and events.

The Lions Ōtari Plant Conservation Laboratory, a centre for conservation science research, is based at Ōtari.

Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush is managed by the Wellington City Council. An on-site team of the Council’s Wellington Gardens staff care for the gardens, forest, tracks and other facilities.

The Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust was established to support the preservation of Ōtari, to foster public awareness and enjoyment through guided walks, seminars and events, and to help promote and enhance the unique plant diversity found here.