Christchurch council worker wigging out over new-found fame

A Christchurch City Council parks employee has seen his Tiktok career take off with two million views.

Regional parks team leader Warren Hunt has relished his viral fame on the city council's TikTok page, even participating in the "tube girl" trend.

The man of many talents has worked at Waitākiri/Bottle Lake Forest Park for 35 years after starting out at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens as a horticultural apprentice.

He has been involved in landscaping around the gardens, working at QEII Park and getting "stuck in" at almost every council facility across Christchurch.

“I’m incredibly proud to hold my head high working for the Christchurch City Council,” Hunt says.

“I’m excited to come to work each morning, and every day is different with the wide variety of work to get involved in.”

Hunt’s work includes anything from emptying bins around the forest to being the Gruffalo whisperer at the Walking Festival.

“I love working with school groups, dealing with the public and interacting with people from all walks of life.

“Alongside these fun and games, you’ve still got to do the core jobs – the hard mahi.

“After the Canterbury earthquakes I was contacted to see if the forest would be open for recreational activities like running races and orienteering.

“It created a sense of wholeness and community, and it felt like we had the ability to help people get back to being semi-normal.

“It’s been 35 years at Bottle Lake and I can’t imagine I’ll be leaving any time soon. I’ll be doing it for a while longer – I love it.”