Tauranga park turning prehistoric

Coming to a botanic park near you. Large lizards will be entertaining children at Sydenham Botannic Park. Photo: Supplied.

Picnickers in Sydenham Botanic Park in Brookfield over the summer are warned to be wary of lizards in the undergrowth - great big ones.

A meat-eating Tyrannosaurus Rex and the giant plant-eating Titanosaurus will be among the pre-historic giants stomping through the park for from January 25-28 for DinoFest.

Sydenham Park will be dialling back the clock 70 million years for the fundraiser, brought to the park by Eventosaurus and Sydenham Botanic Park Trust, in partnership with Tauranga City Council.

'We tell the story of Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent that once included the land that is now New Zealand,” says DinoFest event organiser Laurence Taylor.

'The pine trees and cycads in the park are the perfect setting, with the ancient bush making an excellent prehistoric dinosaur trail.”

DinoFest will open for three hour-long sessions on each of the four days, starting at 10.30am, 1pm and 3pm.

Tickets are available on Eventfinda.

The event includes the 'Dino Dig” and 'Feel a Fossil” palaeontological activities as well as kid's dinosaur tattoos, sieving for fossil shark teeth, art activities and a Jurassic bush trail.

Dinofest's second year at the Sydenham Botannic Park is promising more dinosaurs, more roaring, and more chomping.

The dinosaurs fit right in at the botanic park which boast the largest outdoor collection of kauri, a tree dating back to dinosaur times, along with the cycads - the tree ferns that are thought to have been lunch for the herbivorous.

Ancestors of the kauri first appeared in the Jurassic Period 190 – 135 million years ago. The kauri – podocarp or cone bearing forests are among the most ancient in the world.

Sydenham Botanic Park's kauri collection contains 14 of the 21 known species of which the New Zealand kauri, Agathis Australis is only one. Part of the proceeds from Dinofest goes to the Sydenham Botannic Park Trust

The three hectare park in Brookfield was donated free to the city as long as it was kept as a park.

You may also like....

1 comment

ON Holiday

Posted on 15-01-2018 10:36 | By Taffy

Glad to know TCC councillors and senior staff have found an ideal holiday activity they will be in good company being well versed in prehistoric decision making!!!


Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.