Pukekura Park and the gardens of Taranaki
Taranaki's mild, wet climate and deep volcanic soils make it one of the best places in New Zealand to grow things, and the region has turned that into a reputation for gardens. The centrepiece is Pukekura Park, a short walk from New Plymouth's city centre; beyond it, three public gardens and a spring festival draw visitors from across the country.
Pukekura Park
Pukekura Park was set aside as a recreation ground in 1876, when the land was an unpromising gully of swamp and scrub on the edge of town. Generations of volunteers, and later council staff, turned it into a park of around 50 hectares with lakes, native bush, specimen trees and formal displays. It is free to enter and open every day.
Highlights include:
- The main lake and the Poet's Bridge, the classic view of the park, with the tea house on the water's edge and rowing boats available for hire in the warmer months.
- The Fernery and Display Houses, a series of glasshouses connected by tunnels cut into the hillside, opened in 1928 and still showing ferns, begonias, orchids and seasonal displays.
- The waterfall and fountain, which can be lit after dark during the summer season.
- Native bush walks in the quieter gullies, where tūī, kererū and pīwakawaka are common.
- The cricket ground, a terraced oval often described as one of the most attractive in the country.
Pukekura joins Brooklands Park to the south, which has its own stands of large old trees, a small free zoo popular with families and the Kunming Garden, which marks the city's sister-city link with Kunming in China.
Finding your way around
The park has several entrances. The main gates on Liardet Street, a few minutes' walk from the city centre, lead down past the Fernery towards the main lake; other entrances around the edge of the park and through Brooklands are convenient if you arrive by car or from other parts of town. Paths are a mixture of sealed walkways and steeper gravel tracks, with plenty of steps in the gullies, so visitors using wheelchairs or pushing prams will find the main lake area and the routes along the valley floor easier than the bush tracks. A comfortable first visit takes one to two hours: the Fernery, a circuit of the main lake, a look at the waterfall and a walk through to Brooklands. Maps are posted at the main entrances and published by the council.
The Bowl of Brooklands
The Bowl of Brooklands is an outdoor amphitheatre set in a natural hollow, with a stage facing a grassy slope across a small lake. It is one of New Zealand's best-known concert venues. Since 2003 it has hosted WOMAD New Zealand, the world music festival, each March, and it stages other concerts, events and performances through the summer. Programmes change every year; check the venue's own listings.
The summer festival of lights
Every summer, from around Christmas into early February, Pukekura Park is lit up after dark with coloured lights, illuminated trees and installations, accompanied by free entertainment. The tradition goes back decades and the event, now known as the TSB Festival of Lights, is free to enter. Evenings during the school holidays are busy; arriving early or on a weeknight makes for a calmer visit.
Three public gardens
Taranaki Regional Council looks after three significant gardens in different parts of the region. All have free entry; opening hours vary with the season.
- Pukeiti
- A rainforest garden on the saddle between the Kaitake and Pouakai ranges, about thirty minutes from New Plymouth. Founded in 1951 by a group of rhododendron enthusiasts, it holds one of the world's notable rhododendron collections set within native forest, with walks and a canopy-level path.
- Tūpare
- A garden on the banks of the Waiwhakaiho River on the edge of New Plymouth, created from the 1930s by Russell and Mary Matthews around an Arts and Crafts-style house designed by the architect James Chapman-Taylor. Terraces drop steeply down to the river.
- Hollard Gardens
- Near Kaponga on the southern ring plain, a garden started by Bernie and Rose Hollard in the 1920s on their dairy farm, with a long-established woodland garden and newer areas designed to give ideas to home gardeners.
The Taranaki Garden Festival
For about ten days each year in late October and early November, when rhododendrons and many other plants are in flower, the Taranaki Garden Festival opens dozens of private gardens around the region to visitors, along with the public ones. It began as a rhododendron festival and has broadened over the years to include an associated fringe programme. Tickets and garden lists are published by the organisers ahead of each festival; many gardens are on farms or rural lifestyle blocks, so a car and a good map are essential.
Tips for garden visitors
- Spring (September to November) is peak flowering season; summer brings hydrangeas and the evening lights; autumn colour is strongest in the inland gardens.
- Rain is part of the deal in a rainforest garden. A light waterproof jacket and footwear with grip are useful even on fine days.
- Pukekura Park is close enough to the Coastal Walkway to combine both in a single day on foot.
Sources
- New Plymouth District Council, Pukekura Park and Brooklands information: npdc.govt.nz.
- Taranaki Regional Council, Pukeiti, Tūpare and Hollard Gardens: trc.govt.nz.
- WOMAD New Zealand, festival history: womad.co.nz.
- Taranaki Garden Festival: tgfest.co.nz.
- Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, list entry for Tūpare.