Hunter Region Botanic Gardens

Tomago, Australia, Australia

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Hunter Region Botanic Gardens is the Hunter region's only botanic gardens, located on the Pacific Highway between Newcastle and Raymond Terrace in Heatherbrae (near Tomago), New South Wales, featuring over 30 hectares of tranquil landscaped gardens that display the beauty and diversity of Australian native flora.

The gardens contain more than 3,000 living plant specimens in a natural bush setting with eight kilometres of easy walking tracks and trails through bushland and wetlands, including themed gardens showcasing natives like grevillea, acacia, and hakeas, as well as exotics including orchids, bromeliads, and an impressive succulent and cacti garden.

Managed and maintained entirely by volunteers, the award-winning gardens are a community initiative that also protects 100 hectares of land in the Tomago sand beds catchment area, including two wetland habitats, serving as a centre for environmental and conservation studies, education, and botanical knowledge sharing.

Visitors can enjoy the Kookaburra Café and Gift Shop (open 7 days from 9 am to 3 pm), a nursery with plants for sale, a library, herbarium, guided tours, a Children's Adventure Trail, and facilities for weddings and conferences, with wheelchair-accessible paths and wheelchairs available to borrow from the Visitor Centre. The gardens are open daily from 9 am to 4 pm (closed for Christmas and Easter breaks), located just 30 minutes from Newcastle and Maitland, 40 minutes from Lake Macquarie, and approximately 2 hours from Sydney.