Gibbs Farm | New Zealand

Last updated on 18 March 2025

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase with one of these links, I recieve a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the full Affiliate Policy.

If you ever get the change to go to Gibbs Farm, do it.

Never heard of Gibbs Farm? It’s a multitude of hectares up on the southeastern edges of Northland’s Kaipara Harbour here in New Zealand, and stationed around the massive property are sculptures that seem to defy physics, perspective, and generally everything you know.

“Gibbs Farm is an unusual setting for a sculpture collection…Walking the land visitors can appreciate how each artist has come to terms in their own way with the gravitational pull that is exerted on everything as the mountains roll into hills and slide into gullies and slope down towards the wide flat expanse of the Kaipara harbour.”

The farm is an operating one, which means it’s only open to the public a few days a year. You have to keep an eye on the website, and then leap on tickets as soon as you see them. Get the day off work later. This is exactly what happened to us a few months ago when we saw there were days available. We scored four tickets (they’re free), and then about a month later they turned the day we were going into a charity day, which means everyone who booked tickets after that point had to pay. But if you can get free tickets, all the better.

It wasn’t until a friend told me the day before we went that they have no only colossal sculptures, but real life giraffes, zebras, bison and water buffalo (to name but a few of the zoo-like animals). They weren’t all roaming the grounds, but the emu and the ostriches had free rein, as did an entire herd of alpaca.

It took about three hours for us to walk around the entire site, and while there are paths  you can stick to, getting close to the sculptures (without touching or climbing) is a lot of fun. Be sure to take good walking shoes though!

My favourite was probably Jacob’s Ladder by Gerry Judah  and Horizons by Neil Dawson (see below, respectively).

Have you been to Gibbs Farm? Did you have a favourite sculpture?