Departs from Monarch Wildlife Cruises 20 Fryatt Street
A guided bus tour with Neil Harraway to three very diverse and fascinating private gardens on the scenic Otago Peninsula. Meet and chat with the gardeners who are growing their gardens for beauty and restfulness, for food and nourishment or to make spaces for wildlife to flourish. Whether you are a beginner or a lifetime gardener there will be plenty of gardening gems to be gleaned from this tour. The tour concludes with a delicious afternoon tea at Augustines of Portobello farm store.
The first stop is to Neil Harraway’s harbour view garden at Challis Point. Neil inherited a garden with many great trees and an array of shrubs and perennials. He has tried to bring order to some areas, profusion to others and loves finding and sharing the wildlings. He admits he’s no expert, learning all the time. Neil is the founder and co-chair of Wild Dunedin.
Then onto Portobello township where Judy Goldthorpe and Norm Hinton have created a large urban garden over 26 years. Judy loves the form, colours and textures of plants. This garden shows some great combinations of native and introduced plants to create a rich diversity for birds and invertebrates. Judy and Norm have contributed to the local conservation effort to increase the Rifleman/Titipounamu population by building predator free nest boxes.
Final stop is Fat Weka Farm in Portobello where Jeannie and Peter Hayden purchased a 50 acre rewilding property ten years ago. Over 50% is under a QEII Trust covenant where the forest has been regenerating for 30 years. A short forest visit is followed by an orchard visit to see food trees of apples, pears and plums, grown following permaculture principles.
It’s a lot of territory to cover, but well worth it to get a taste of food gardens, regenerating and planted natives and introduced trees, plus a walk in the orchard. Jeannie has been named Wild Hero for 2025 by Wild Dunedin acknowledging her work in developing and running Wild Dunedin Festival for 9 years.
At Augustines plunger coffee and tea is included in the tour price…espresso and other beverages available for purchase.
Be aware: Ground is uneven in places. Bring a water bottle and clothing appropriate for the day. Waterproof footwear recommended.
Cost $50pp, max 16
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