We visited the most amazing garden weve ever visited before. In fact, so amazing, that it was daft! How could anyone create something so huge, so beautiful and so much work? So, some details...... Maple Glen is a 74 acre garden about 40 kms out of Invercargill, near Wyndham in the Hokonui Foothills. It was reached through really nice dairy farms and past a huge Fonterra Factory at Edendale (Edendale is where Lindsays grandmother grew up). The property appeared quite ordinary as we arrived but as soon as we entered into the garden it stretched out into the distance with masses of beautiful trees and plantings. The more we walked, the bigger the garden got. One pond became many ponds, each with their own plantings. There were large areas of just rhododendrons, dells of special trees, avenues of trees, and to top it off an avenue of new plantings going up the hill in the distance which was all part of a future plan. This garden should be a National Arboretum or a Regionally owned garden as it would be too precious to let go. Really, a folly for private people.
Richardson Transport World. This was another amazing place. It is huge! There was old and new of all sorts of transport - cars, trucks, vans, buses, tractors, and so much more. Some focused on speed, some work, some travel, and some just ordinary cars. There was a focus on Ford cars from the earliest to the latest. Of note were many Wearable Art models on one of the mezzanine floors. Nothing to do with transport apart from them being sponsors. I even got to sit in the original Mini from the film Goodbye Pork Pie. There are over 300 vehicles and it is the largest private collection in the southern hemisphere. It doesnt matter whether you like or dont care about vehicles, this is still worth a visit. They are beautifully repaired and presented.
Lastly, we visited the Queens Garden which is a large landscaped park in the middle of Invercargill. Once again, it was worth the visit to wander along tree lined roads, to various themed gardens like, the rose garden, Japanese and Chinese Gardens, a rotunda, aviary, animal enclosure, kids park, tropical house and a 9 hole golf course. Nice.
here, I think it is apt to say that Invercargill has gone up in my expectations. It has fantastic sports facilities, wide streets, nice well kept suburbs, plenty of parks, and the lovely rolling interior of the Southland province. We will leave seeing that despite being well south and no doubt colder than the north, it has many attributes worth checking out. Im a convert.
