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23rd Taranaki Rhododendron & Garden Festival - Oct 29 to Nov 7, 2010

The 23rd annual Taranaki Rhododendron & Garden Festival will open its garden gates for a 10-day Festival of private and public gardens, jazz & wine parties, guided walks and celebrated guest speakers from October 29 to November 7 this year.

One of the longest running garden festivals in New Zealand, the 2010 festival will feature 49 high quality private and public gardens, including nine new gardens, open to visitors.

The original six are Pukeiti, Ratanui and Tupare gardens in New Plymouth, Tikorangi The Jury Garden in Waitara, Ostlers Garden in Stratford, and Hollards Garden in Kaponga, says Festival manager, Lisa Ekdahl.

"Gardens and their gardeners are ever- changing, which makes the Festival a fresh experience every year," says Ms. Ekdahl.

"What we aim for each year is to give visitors a diverse range of high quality gardens that are among the best in the country. Visitors can enjoy strolling through large park-like country gardens, geometric gardens, intimate inner city potager gardens, sub-tropical or rainforest gardens - we even have an authentic Japanese tea house garden!"

Under wraps is this year's landscape design project. For the last five years, Festival organisers have invited leading national and international landscape designers to create a unique garden just for the Festival.

Entries have included a whale bone sculpture garden on the New Plymouth coastal walkway and even a multi-media virtual garden.

"Each year we try to inspire and challenge visitors with the landscape design project - and this year will be no different as we are undertaking a type of garden that has virtually never been seen before in New Zealand," reveals Ms. Ekdahl.

Flower power train steams to Taranaki Rhododendron & Garden Festival

Garden lovers can add a little travel romance with a three-day package traveling by an historic steam train to this year's Taranaki Rhododendron & Garden Festival running from Friday October 29 to Sunday, November 7 in New Zealand.

Packaged by Kiwi Tours, the JA1271 steam train operated by Steam Incorporated will leave Paekakariki station just north of Wellington on Friday October 29 and stop at all major stations en route to New Plymouth to pick up passengers.

Limited to 200 passengers, the $2450 package includes returns airfares from Melbourne to Wellington, three night's hotel accommodation, luxury coach transfers, entry and travel to nine Festival gardens, three cooked breakfasts and two lunches.

Nearly sold out in its first year last year, Kiwi Tours managing director, Stewart Erb, says the romance of traveling to the Festival by steam train really captured garden lover's imaginations.

"We had passengers driving or flying in to Wellington from all over New Zealand just to experience the steam train," says Mr. Erb.

"The journey really delivered on expectations and was a really magical experience. And we've put together a cross-section of gardens in the package to give visitors the real New Zealand garden experience that is a little different from last year."

While the steam train was built in 1956, it will be hauling four historic passenger cars and a buffet car that have all been refurbished and date back as early as 1908.

WHEN: Oct 29 to Nov 7, 2010

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