A living museum
A living museum, Christchurch Botanic Gardens captivates visitors with its ever-changing displays and diverse plant collections.
Spanning 21 hectares, this vibrant oasis engages all your senses throughout the year. Explore a variety of gardens, each showcasing exotic and local flora and fauna from New Zealand and around the world.
Our dedicated curators, skilled technical staff, and passionate volunteers serve as kaitiaki (guardians) of this remarkable legacy.
With over a million annual visitors, the Botanic Gardens are an essential stop during your visit to Ōtautahi . Be sure to add us to your itinerary!
Te Māra Huaota o Waipapa
The Botanic Gardens logo speaks of our connection to the land, water and Māori, the indigenous people of the land.
The whakairo (design) shows the connection between Wai-ora, the water of life, and Ngā kakano, the seed pods.
It was designed and gifted to us by Ben Te Aika, a carver from Ngāi Tūāhuriri; mana whenua (holding territorial rights) for this area of Christchurch.
The reo name for the Botanic Gardens, Te Māra Huaota o Waipapa, translates as the Botanic Gardens of Waipapa. Waipapa is the name of the bend in the Ōtākaro/Avon River where the Gardens is located.
