Only 5 kilometres from downtown Wellington lies a unique treasure; 5 hectares of botanic gardens created for the collection and preservation of New Zealand's native plants nestled against the largest block of natural forest on the Wellington peninsula to survive initial settlement. Otari-Wilton's Bush is celebrated nationally and internationally as the only botanic garden dedicated to the cultivation of New Zealand's unique flora.

Otari is a Maori word, meaning "Place of Snares", which refers to the hunting that took place in the area for hundreds of years. As the fever of European colonisation in the mid 1800s saw the decimation of most of the lush forests of Wellington, one farmer, Job Wilton, saw fit to fence a portion of his bush and protect it from development. Now, over a century later, more than half of all remaining original native forest in Wellington lies within Otari-Wilton's Bush. This ancient forest includes towering matai and rimu, as well as tawa, rewarewa and kohekohe. The taller trees are often the home for epiphytes or perching plants, and examples of Collospermum hastatum, a high-rise relative of the familiar astelia, can be spied by those with eagle eyes. Many native climbers also abound in the heights of the forest, and walkers will find it easy to take a trip back in time and imagine themselves in a Wellington once untouched by human development as they stroll through Otari.