Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust
Facebook Instagram News
  • Home
  • About the Trust
    • Volunteering
    • News
    • Newsletters
  • Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush
  • Restoration
  • Visiting
    • Winter Glowworm Tours
    • Trust Seminar Series
    • Autumn Guided Walks
  • Botanical Art
    • Writing about Ōtari
  • Membership / Donations
    • Endowment Fund
  • Contact

Autumn Guided Walks

The Trust offers an annual programme of walks ranging across various themes, guided by experts in their fields, that explore different facets of Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush and New Zealand’s natural biodiversity. These tours are free for all Trust members, and families are welcome. The 2025 programme ended in May and we are now busy planning for a super-duper guided walks programme for 2026, to celebrate the centenary of the opening of the ‘Ōtari Open-air Plant Museum’. (This was the forerunner of the Ōtari Native Botanic Garden, is now part of Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush.)

Take a look here, for a taste of what we got up to during the 2025 programme:

City Nature Challenge and the night life of Ōtari

Be it day or night DOC entomologist, Will Brockelsby, is a regular visitor to Ōtari, always keen to explore the insect world that lives here. We timed his Autumn Guided Walk for the night time, also to take part in this year’s City Nature Challenge, when Wellington vied with cities worldwide to list the most native species on iNaturalist in one weekend. And wow! Did we find some insects - and moths, glowworms, spiders, wētā and so much more. More than 60 parents, grandparents, kids and others joined the quest - with Will and fellow entomologist, Shaun Thompson, helping to identify the critters.

All up, during the City Nature Challenge weekend in Ōtari alone, a total of 633 observations and 299 species were recorded by 34 different observers. Of these, 327 were plant observations, of 160 different species, and the remainder were all kinds of insects, spiders, snails, birds, eels, mites, and a very special species of fungus gnat that had never before been recorded on iNaturalist.

Fungi Kingdom, with Geoff Ridley (mycologist)

Among all the plants that co-exist within Ōtari there’s one ‘kingdom’ different from all the rest. And are they popular! Mycologist Geoff Ridley ran two fully-booked tours shwoing people how to find fungi growing in Ōtari: they found them on tree trunks and under forest litter, reds and browns, scarlet pouches and ruby bonnets. Be in quick next year!

Ecology of Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush

DOC ecologist Annemieke Hendricks’ biodiversity insights were hugely popular.

Learning about our common native plants

Leon Perrie (Curator of Botany, Te Papa) guided both young and older folk on an introduction to Wellington’s common native plants, be they the peppery-tasting, medicinal kawakawa to the lofty podocarps. Helped by Te Papa evolutionary biologist, Lara Shepherd, everyone gained a better appreciation of the ecology and requirements of the native plants we are most likely to see. And we didn’t eat too many kawakawa leaves!

Ōtari Essentials

The Trust’s own volunteer guides led an ‘Ōtari Essentials – introduction to the wonders of Ōtari’ experience. Many people visit Ōtari without knowing about the special heritage here, or the stories of some of our rarest native plants. This tour provided enlightment!

We’re looking forward to seeing you on a guided tour next year. Remember they are all free for Trust members. The 2026 Centenary Autumn Walk programme will be released early next year, look for it in our member newsletter, on our social media and here on this website.

Return to top

© 2025 Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust • Website by RS

  • Home
  • About the Trust
    • Volunteering
    • News
    • Newsletters
      • 2025
  • Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush
  • Restoration
  • Visiting
    • Winter Glowworm Tours
    • Trust Seminar Series
    • Autumn Guided Walks
  • Botanical Art
    • Writing about Ōtari
  • Membership / Donations
    • Endowment Fund
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram