Otari-Wilton's Bush features about 11km of walking tracks through native bush and garden collections.
Tracks are signposted. Forest trails are slippery when wet. Sturdy footwear is recommended.
The following walking times are approximate and depend on fitness.
- Nature Trail: 20 - 40 minutes. Some steps, and steep in places. Brochures are available at the Information Centre end of the Canopy Walkway.
- Kaiwharawhara Track: 30 minutes. A gentle walk along the stream.
- Blue Trail: 1 hour. Mainly through dense kohekohe forest. Some steps. The track is steep in places. Features an 800-year-old rimu.
- Yellow Trail: 40 minutes. Forest walk through Bledisloe Gorge. Challenging with some steps.
- Red Trail: 40 minutes. Some steps, and steep in places.
- Circular Walk: 30 minutes. Some steps, and steep in places.
- Wilton Walkway: 5 minutes. A gentle walk to the viewing platform. Wheelchair friendly.
- Canopy Walkway: A 75m canopy walkway - 18m above the forest floor - links the two main garden areas. Good footwear is required.
Native birds and bush
Otari-Wilton's Bush is a haven for native birds including tui, kereru, silver eye, kingfisher, grey warbler, bell birds and morepork.
Scientists and volunteers counted 1,367 different living species - animals, plants, fungi, protists, bacteria - in the bush and reserve areas during a 24-hour bioblitz in 2007. Their finds included a new species of cave weta and an Amanita fungus.
Carved gateway / waharoa
Bruce Manu, of Te Atiawa, carved the two waharoa gateways to Otari-Wilton's Bush from totara. The waharoa at the main entrance depicts unity and partnership and welcomes visitors to the reserve. The waharoa at the southern end of the Canopy Walkway depicts Tane Mahuta and the forest's guardians.