Site Report: Auckland Botanical Gardens

Visits

• 2012-01-30: So, here we were, stuck in the middle of nowhere without a car or hope of any bus. We had to be to the airport by late afternoon for our flight home, but hey no problem, right? We met a group from Auckland at the bunkhouse, and lucky us, they had a couple of spots available for the ride to Auckland. And, as a bonus, they were stopping at a farmhouse nearby for a tour of the farm. The farm was interesting. The dad was a champion log cutter, and he had traveled to Australia for some contest. There was an ancient Maori fortification on the high point of the farm. It was good to meet some of the locals. After stopping for ice cream, Mike, the driver agreed to drop us off at the Auckland Botanical Garden. I had heard some rumors of a New Zealand Dabchick in a pond at the garden, and we found them in no time. Unfortunately, we had run out of cash at this point, and there was not a cash machine near the garden. We started to walk the two miles or so to get to the bus stop, but before we made it one block, two locals asked us if they could drive us to the bus stop.

Species Seen

Lifelists

• Australasia
• World

Trips

• New Zealand