Open all hours, free to enter, and so many reasons to visit!

Explore gentle paths through the native botanic garden collections (including some of New Zealand’s rarest native plants), pick up a brochure at the entrance to guide you
Wander the forest trails (explore the 12km network through mature and original native podocarp/northern rātā forest), walk for 20 minutes or two hours, steeply or gently, it’s your choice
Have a picnic, barbecue, birthday party, spot the native birdlife and freshwater fauna (tuna, the eels, are a huge hit with kids)
Join a Trust guided tour – we just love showing off Ōtari!
Try your hand at nature photography - some of our leading botany and bird photographers might be standing beside you
Just be at one with nature, Ōtari is known as a healing place

Try our Trails

In September, 2025, Ngā ara o Ōtari, new ‘wayfinding’ for Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush was launched. Five new trails and circuits were introduced - offering options for all your different interests and levels of fitness. New brochures (available in English and reo Māori), maps and bollard directional signs were also introduced. Names for the five new routes were gifted by Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika, mana whenua for Ōtari. They reflect the cultural landscape and physical nature of each track and provide a great learning experience for those interested in better understanding reo Māori.

Here are the new trails, and the meanings behind their names. Come along and try them out.

Te Ara Porowhita: 1.6km | 30–60min loop Easy | a few steps

Circular loop track and our most popular walk. Features stream, native forest and gardens. Go clockwise to walk down steps to Troup Picnic Lawn and return up a more gentle slope.

Meaning: literally translates as “The Circular Walk”, reflecting the old name and its circular nature. The word ‘porowhita’ is derived from a transliteration of poro, the Māori word for ball. Porowhita can also be used to encircle or reserve an area. This is fitting as the original forest protected by Job Wilton, which forms the core of Ōtari today, is encircled by this track.

Te Ara Pīnaki: 3.25km | 60–90min loop Easy | some steps

Gently rising loop track which takes you from the Troup Picnic Lawn, meanders through native forest to Karori Cemetery then descends and returns along the Kaiwharawhara Stream.

Meaning: the gently rising (or meandering) track.

Te Ara o Tama: 4.75km | 90–120min loop Moderate hike

Moderately rising tramping track with steps and roots through ancient native forest. You will be rewarded with visiting Moko the 800-year-old rimu, epic views from the Skyline and will return via the Flax Clearing.

Meaning: named for Ngāti Tama ki Kaiwharawhara who have owned much of the land that this track passes through.

Te Ara Tūpoupou: 2km | 45-90min loop Hard | lots of steps

Steeply rising tramping track through some of the best old-growth forest in Wellington. Mostly steps with a small stream crossing and some narrow sections.

Meaning: the steeply rising track. With its sharp rises and descents, this is the one for those after a wild high-cardio experience.

Te Ara o Kaiwharawhara Awa: 2km one way | 60–90min return Easy | No steps

Follow the flow of the Kaiwharawhara Stream along this mostly flat forest walk. Keep an eye out for tuna in the stream. Buggy friendly.

Meaning: Quite simply, the track that follows alongside Kaiwharawhara Stream, a very significant waterbody to Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika.

Te Ara Koukouoro Nature Trail: 750m | 15–45min loop Moderate | lots of steps

Self-guided walk around the two main garden areas and through the forested gully and stream that links them. Brochures available in Māori and English.

Meaning: the path through the dense dark bush. Koukouoro is a word from the Taranaki area that means ‘dense dark bush’. Koukou is another word for ruru (morepork), and oro is a way of describing resonating sound. So another way to think of it is the track where you can hear the sound of ruru.

Rā Tūwhera ki Ōtari Open Day

Open Day is all done for 2025. Check our news page and social media to see what happened.

Open Day is an annual promotion of Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush hosted by Wellington Gardens (WCC), the Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust, and our community partners in all things related to native plants and wildlife, conservation and education. Our Plant Sales are legendary. As well, we often have puppet shows, raranga weaving, rongoā traditional health and wellbeing, behind-the-scenes nursery tours, and guest speakers. There’s always something special for everyone, of all ages.

We’re looking forward now to a bumper Open Day 2026, when we will also be celebrating the centenary of the the establishment of the Ōtari Open Air Native Plant Museum, now the Ōtari Native Botanic Garden.

Ōtari Essentials:

Where: Many trails enter Ōtari. The main entrance, car park, information sign and Tāne Whakapiripiri Visitor Centre is at 150 Wilton Road, Wilton. The northern entrance, car park and information sign is opposite the end of Blackridge Road.

Getting here: Drive, bike, walk, or take the Number 14 (Wilton) bus from the city. It’s an approximately 15 minute journey by car from Wellington city centre to Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush. Route | Map

Please note: Dogs on a leash are welcome at Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush. The paths and trails are for walkers and runners, but please no bikes.

Our recommended visitor highlights

Visit Tāne Whakapiripiri Visitor Centre

Maps and artwork will get you in the mood for appreciating your Ōtari visit. Take your time to learn about Ōtari from the digital interactive display. Pick up a brochure. In the weekends, our volunteer hosts will love to answer any questions you might have about exploring Ōtari, and have some interesting books you might like to buy. (Our host hours are 11am to 4pm (summer daylight saving time) and 10.30am to 3.30pm (winter). The visitor centre is open daily 7.30am to 4pm.

Cross the Canopy Walkway

Be like a bird, cross the walkway that soars 18 metres above the forest floor. Look directly into the tree tops. Look for the birds, kererū could be feeding on fruit right beside you. Don’t stand on a forest gecko, they also like to cross the canopy, which leads from Tāne Whakapiripiri to the Cockayne Lawn and plant collections.

Look out from the Cockayne Lookout

This viewpoint gives a great perspective of the treasure that is Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush; the myriad plant collections around you, the tall, green forest beyond, the sheer scale of it all, and most likely a kākāriki, or kākā, or tūī will be flying by. It’s also a place for reflection, to perhaps give a quiet nod of thanks to Dr Leonard Cockayne, who rests here with his wife Maude, beneath the memorial stone in the coastal garden.

Wander the plant collections

More than 1200 plant species, hybrids and cultivars are set out in families, groups and specially created habitats to replicate their natural environments. Check out the fernery, alpine garden, hebe and flax cultivars, and much more. The collections sprawl over five hectares, connected by gentle, meandering pathways and all close to the main entrance. Pick up a brochure to guide you, from Tāne Whakapiripiri or at the main car park and entrance on Wilton Road.

Take the Treasure Trail

Explore this self-guided tour that starts at the Fernery (near the main car park) and ends at the Cockayne Lookout. It was designed by the late Dr John Dawson, a renowned author/botanist and founding Trust member. Pick up a brochure from Tāne Whakapiripiri.

Relax on the Troup Picnic Lawn

Probably the most popular spot in all of Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush, the lawn is great for picnics and birthday parties, splashing in the stream, looking for tuna, or just relaxing in the sun with the forest all around - and usually kererū swooping through. There are barbecues, a shelter and toilets and you can walk in from the main entrance (10 minutes down a bit of a hill) or along the path beside Kaiwharawhara Stream from the northern car park (15 minutes, mostly flat).

Visit Moko

‘Moko’ is more than 800 years old and probably the biggest, oldest rimu tree in the whole of Wellington. The track to Moko starts at the Troup Picnic Lawn. In 2022 a more gentle, zig zag route was opened to save your legs and lungs, allow about 20-30 minutes (one way). The platform around Moko was a Trust project, designed to protect the tree’s vulnerable root system from being trampled by visiting humans!

Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Guided Tours

In additon to the Autumn Guided Walks Programme, the Trust’s own guides offer tours throughout the year. These include generic garden tours for cruise ship passengers, and bespoke tours arranged for groups and individuals that can cover everything from the native plant collections, the heritage of Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush, and forest trail walks. Garden groups, special interest groups and tramping clubs are regular guests. Tours can be arranged with the Trust for a small per capita fee. Our experienced volunteer guides are fully trained, many are botanical experts and we can tailor tours to your specific needs.

Visiting Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush