Also found in the Domain is the Auckland Winter Garden. This was an unplanned visit for us, as we had no knowledge of the place until happening upon a sign pointing to it. It sounded like something with possibilities, this being winter, and had the additional selling point of costing nothing to visit.

The Winter Garden has three principal parts: the Tropical House, the Temperate House (AKA the Cool House), and the Fernz Fernery. The Tropical and Temperate Houses are greenhouses occupied by plant life partial to their respective temperatures. These plants include trees, shrubs, cacti, and many colorful flowers. The entrance to the garden goes through the Temperate House.



The Tropical House and the Temperate House are separated by a large central courtyard with statues, fountains and a reflecting pool. The Tropical House had somewhat more colorful flowers and was blessedly warm inside. Among its plants were several carnivorous pitcher plants, irresistibly attractive to insects which often fall into the "pitchers" to be drowned and digested.




As one might expect, the Fernz Fernery (with entry from the courtyard) showcases ferns, found in profusion throughout New Zealand. The Fernery is probably very pleasant in the summer, but in the winter it was mostly dark and cold.

From the Winter Garden we returned to the local bus stop to get back to the Central Business District. Our plan was to do a last exploration of downtown Auckland before packing up for our departure from New Zealand.