There is Waipahihi Botanic Reserve, which apparently in spring is somewhere worth checking out if you’re in Taupo. And I mean, yeah, it was. It was a nice little spot that wasn’t too big.
This volunteer-run reserve were tucked up above the lake and was a quietly pleasant place to wander off on your own for an hour or two, with no entry fee required and no crowds. Just some bush tracks to follow, some rhododendrons to poke at, and I left with a lot more photo than I thought I would have. It’s a donation-based reserve, which I liked.
There’s a box by the gate to leave whatever you feel like. We visited in August. The season was just getting started, with some still barely out of bud and other areas of the garden between season.
A Quiet Walk with Flowers and Lake Views
Waipahihi Botanic Reserve
But there was a lot in bloom, and I enjoyed the blend of more formal plantings and native bush around the place. And then, near the end, we found a sweet surprise: Someone had been placing painted rocks along the pathways. The gate is set up just like most shelters: a welcome sign, a map board of available trails (not enough to get lost here), and a donation box, which is painted the same color as the shelter inside.
I glanced over the map quickly to orient myself but there isn’t much to get lost in here. The donation request was reasonable and polite and we tossed a couple bucks into it before continuing down the drive.
As soon as we went in, the rhododendrons began all along the road’s length on either side. Some was barely open, others were in full bloom, and some were still tightly shut in their buds. Rhododendrons is always a little hit or miss for me, when will they bloom?
But this time we had timed things pretty well.
It wasn’t just that the plantings weren’t small, but also that the road was a delight to walk. The track led on with more branches leading off into other paths. We took them all and the rhododendrons continued in many colours.
At times it was almost spilling out onto the track; I stopped every couple of metres to snap another photo. Camellias was also interspersed here and there, adding to the mix. If you needed to stop for breath there were even a couple of benches tucked away along the route, and overall it was peaceful but not too manicured.
My favourite shot was probably this close-up of the budding flowers; you can see how each petal is just beginning to open up. There was one section where a tall hedge of camellias was positively dripping with bloom, and we stood there awhile to soak it all in. So thickly did they cover the branches that you hardly noticed the foliage beneath them.
In fact, some of the shrubs was beginning to push out new growth, or were still bare-branched, reminding me that we were really on the edge here, of what?
Exactly. Even the non-blooming plants had a sort of structural interest. You could feel the bones of the garden.
My favourite parts of this garden were the bush tracks.
There’s something about the native bush that is so different than the formal garden sections, it’s cooler, quieter, and has that earthy smell you get in the native bush. Here there were more rhododendrons tucked away in the understorey (who would of thought), and I enjoyed seeing how they looked amongst the moss-covered trunks and ferns. The paths weren’t overly groomed but well maintained and we had them to ourselves more or less.
At some point we crossed over a water reservoir tank; not exactly scenic, but I guess all gardens require infrastructure.
Nearby was a sign for a sampling point, so I guess the reserve shares its water supply with something else. Not much to say about that bit, realy, other than it’s clearly marked and out of the way. The reserve then fanned open further to a lawn area with picnic tables and an actual view across Lake Taupo.
We paused briefly here and simply stared into the lake and across at the hills on the opposite shore.
There isn’t anything dramatic about this overlook, but it is a pleasant place to sit and take in the views, and I can imagine that on a clear day it would be even more so. There were some specimen trees and conifers in beds on the lawn, and the whole thing had a family-friendly feeling. Lots of room to stretch out a picnic blanket or let the little ones play.
Another trail led past some more benches and a little pond; we doubled-back on ourselves again.
In one direction the road leading through the reserve wound off through the bush, and I wanted to carry on down that way, but we was beginning to push our time. It was all planted thoughtfully, not over-fussy at all, but you could tell someone had spent years developing the collection. I wasn’t expecting the magnolias to be just coming into flower in another section, but they were.
Their buds were opening in shades ranging from pale to deep, and a few shrubs over there was all covered in tiny white blossoms. We discovered another bench here and paused for a moment, though I was starting to take too many photos and kept jumping up to take more shots. There were camellias everywhere in the reserve, blooming at all different stages as if every hedge had decided to flower just a little later than its neighbor.
I’m normally not a big fan of camellias (too formal for me), too often, but here they’d been planted informally, and there were such a range of colors that they did work.
And then we wandered around some more. There were some palms and tree ferns, and conifers and lawns. There was a carved timber panel standing in the garden that could have been a memorial or dedication, and a plaque set into stone with some text I didn’t stop to read closely.
It was all very community feeling, the sort of place where you can tell the locals cares for it a lot.
As we were nearing the end of the walk, we began noticing that someone… Or more than one someone; had left a series of painted pebbles in the leaf litter and along the edges of the paths. They each had a pattern or design on them, and they’d been left in a kind of trail.
The one pictured here said “Taupo Rocks” (which I suppose is a local project/group). It’s a nice gentle way to end a walk, and I’m always a sucker for this kind of community art thing. We didn’t take one; the point is to leave them for the next person, but I did stop and take photos of a few.
Fortunately Waipahihi Botanic Reserve was exactly what I needed that morning, no crowds, no pressure, just a nice stretch of bush and garden to wander through. It’s definitely worth an hour of your time if you’re in Taupo in spring; even if only for a quiet walk with some lake view thrown in (and if you like rhododendrons). The donation model worked well and I felt like we’d got far more then we’d paid for.
What are your recommendations for volunteer-run gardens that has surprised you? I’d love to hear them.