Whitford Bird Garden

I enjoyed our little tour, but the reality is this place has had its heyday and is now very quiet. New Zealand doesn't allow exotic species into the country so there aren't any new species in the collection. We spent an hour there, fully guided. You can't buy food/ drink, but you can arrange high-tea by prebooking. I liked the friendly little ponies and the yellow pheasant.

If it was an option we would give no stars at all for this place! It is a disgrace - run down, dirty and poorly maintained. The so called gallery containing Blake Twigden’s beautiful artwork is dirty and full of cobwebs. The birds are in cramped cages that look like they have not been cleaned out for years. Water bowls are dirty and in some cases upturned or empty. The pond is nothing but green slime. The steps to the viewing platform are broken and quite frankly dangerous. We booked and paid for the one hour guided tour but left early because we found the experience so distressing. The guide, far from being knowledgeable, told us the gallery housed paintings by “Peter Blake” ! In our opinion this place needs to be closed down and the birds rehomed.