Before we drove across the South Island we visited two gardens: Woodend Garden and the Hammond Garden.

WOODEND GARDEN

I asked a man who had a name badge on if he was the gardener who pruned all these hedges and he said that he was the owner but he did prune the hedges:

Arbors and arches:

Roses and Rhododendrons:

Lawns and flowers:

Clematis

Columbine

Marguerite

Foxglove

Armeria

Peony

HAMMOND GARDEN

This is a very formal garden with many statues and water features:

Formal planting:

Patio room:

We drove 5 hours across the island to the west coast and here are some views of the scenery along the way:

Lake Rotoroa

Black Swan event

Southern Beech Forest (Nothofagus) There are 43 different species of Nothofagus native to New Zealand, South America and Indonesia.

Buller River

Tasman Mountains

Buller River

Flax (Phormium tenax) growing along the Tasman Sea

West coast of New Zealand South Island – Tasman Sea

View from my hotel room at Punakaiki.

Tomorrow – Travel to Christchurch