Whangarei Quarry Gardens

A SUBTROPICAL PARADISE IN NORTHLAND

27 AUGUST 2022

There are a few waterfalls on the grounds

A Great Way To Spend The Day

The Whangarei Quarry Gardens are located in Whangarei in the North Island of New Zealand, on the site of a former quarry which has been transformed into a beautiful garden setting.

The gardens are divided into different sections, including a Five Senses Garden, an Arid Garden, and a Bromeliad Garden. Our favourite was the Arid Garden with all the cacti - the girls LOVED IT. More about that later in the blog.

There are multiple walking tracks and seating areas throughout the gardens, giving you the opportunity to relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the garden and around the area you'll find lots of sculptures made by local artists.

The highlight of the gardens (apart from the beautiful plants) has to be the quarry pool which is an exotic green colour and has multiple waterfalls surrounding it.

The entrance from the carpark Sienna holding her GIANT leaf!

Donation box in one of the gardens

Te Kereru Rua by artist Shane Hansen

The senses garden

Mappy McMap Face

The Whangarei Quarry gardens weren't the highest priority on our to-do list while we were exploring Whangarei but we decided to give it a go and we were so glad we did! It wasn't what we expected at all and we loved every minute of it! We went in winter so it wasn't super-hot walking around and oh boy those gardens can get HOT - the ground once reached a record 50 degrees on summer - phew!

Northland is known as the 'winterless north' which makes it the perfect place to grow sub tropical plants. It does get cool in Northland and it does rain (boy does it rain!!) but there's never any snow and it doesn't ever seem to drop below zero. We were even swimming with stingray in the middle of winter at Marsden Bay!

The girls found some huuuge leaves which they thought was the best thing ever and Sienna took hers with her everywhere she went - they were almost half the size of them! They love anything new and exciting and the gardens definitely delivered!

We walked around all of the gardens as there are multiple walking tracks and the only disappointment of the day was that one of the trails leading to the waterfall was closed due to a recent rockfall. Boohoo, it looked like such a great track but we will definitely be visiting again next time we're in Northland to do the track.

When we paid to get in (a donation) at the entrance, we got given laminated maps of the gardens which was really helpful and Bella absolutely loved finding where we were on the map.

Hmmm I wonder where the girls are?!

The grounds are beautifully maintained

Sienna loved the waterfalls at the gardens

The Quarry

The quarry was beautiful and we felt like we were in a land far, far away! It was established in 1944 by Hardie Brothers and was used for extracting basalt rock for local roading projects. However, severe flooding in 1974 halted the operation and the land was then donated to the Whangarei District Council to become part of the city's parks and reserves network. The land lay idle for 20 years and was mainly used as a rubbish dump, full of abandoned vehicles, concrete slabs, gorse, pampas grass, and other weeds.

In 1990, a group of enthusiasts called the Friends of the Quarry Garden approached the Whangarei District Council to negotiate the formation of a public garden on the site. The council then purchased 2.5 hectares of adjoining land in 1997 to form a link to the top northwest border. The group began clearing the overgrown site and a building was installed in 1998 to provide facilities for the volunteers. A charitable trust was established in 2000 to develop the project and take responsibility for the development of the gardens.

View over the man-made lake

Needle-less To Say, It's Not Easy To Hug A Cactus

Cacti are some seriously tough plants. They're native to the Americas and are known for their spiky appearance and ability to survive in the driest, hottest environments. And trust me, these plants have seen some stuff. They've been around for millions of years and have survived droughts, sandstorms, and even the occasional tumbleweed stampede (except in New Zealand, of course). But despite all that, they still manage to look pretty damn good.

Cacti come in all shapes and sizes, from the tiny, cute-as-a-button pincushion cactus to the giant saguaro cactus, which can grow up to 50 feet tall and look like they're giving you the side-eye. But don't let their spiky exterior fool you - cacti are actually some of the gentlest plants around. They have a special ability to store water in their stems and pads, which allows them to go for long periods of time without watering. In fact, some cacti can survive for months without a single drop of water.

Located in one of the warmest and driest areas of the Quarry Gardens, the Arid Garden is the perfect home for a variety of cacti and succulent plants. The garden experiences some SERIOUS heat in summer, with ground level temperatures often reaching over 40 degrees and once it even reached a record high of 50 degrees - phew! It was our favourite garden to walk around in and the girls loved seeing all the different cacti.

So the next time you see a cactus, just remember that they may look tough, but they're actually a bunch of softies on the inside but don't mess with them because they can take just about anything the desert (or the Whangarei Quarry Gardens) can throw at them.

The blue plants in the Arid Garden were such a beautiful contrast against the rocks

Flora and Fauna

The gardens were full of beautiful and unique flowers and there were loads that we'd never seen before. Our favourite was definitely the Encephalartos villosus or 'giant pineapple looking thingy' which was super vibrant and a great touch in the gardens.

The girls loved holding some camellias they found on the ground and looking at the petals scattered around. It had been raining the previous day, so the petals had rain drops on them which looked soooo pretty!

Near the Arid Garden is a weta hotel which looks like a tree trunk that you can open and see weta inside. We saw another weta box at the Trounson Kauri Park in Northland and we think they're a great way for kids to get up close to some native insects without harming them.

There was even a quail spa in the gardens - how cute is that?!

How cute is this for in summer?!

The weta hotel

A weta sleeping in the weta hotel

Bella holding a camellia she found on the ground

Poinsettia Scilla Peruviana

Cymbidium Orchid Encephalartos Villosus

Pohutukawa

Bird of Paradise

Know Before You Go

The gardens are open 9am - 5pm every day (excluding Christmas Day and New Years Day)
The Quail Cafe is open 9am - 3pm Wednesday to Sunday
The gardens are smoke-free (yay!)
Entry is by donation
You can book a guided walking tour or you can even choose a golf cart tour

Mappy McMap Face

Getting There

The Whangarei Quarry Gardens are just north of Whangarei's city centre. Head north onto State Highway and once you reach Douglas Street turn left, then left again onto Russell Road. Then gardens will be on your right and are well sign posted.

Conclusion

The Whangarei Quarry Gardens is the perfect spot for all you plant-loving weirdos out there! Take a stroll through the subtropical paradise and you'll feel like you've been transported to a wacky botanical wonderland (or South America). But watch out for the cacti, they've been known to give unsuspecting visitors a poke when they're not looking.
The quarry has been transformed into an aquatic oasis, complete with waterfalls and pools that'll make you want to cannonball in (but please don't, let's keep the place serene and peaceful). And if walking around ain't your thang then you can take a leisurely ride on a golf cart tour.

It's such a beautiful spot in Whangarei and is an affordable family outing.