Motueka District Museum is a regional museum, housed in the town’s old school building. The museum features displays on local history, genealogy and Māori culture.
Motueka District Museum
World of WearableArt (WOW) & Classic Cars Museum
The World of WearableArt and Classic Cars Museum complex near the airport combines art, fashion and a classic car museum.
It is one of Nelson’s top visitor attractions which comes as a surprise considering that it is expensive, a long way from the city centre and it combines two very different themes: cars and fashion.
The Suter Art Gallery
New Zealand’s third-largest art museum has an impressive collection with works by John Gully, Sir Tosswill Woollaston and Gottfried Lindauer. A vibrant programme of temporary exhibitions complements its permanent collection.
Nelson Provincial Museum
Nelson Provincial Museum features exhibits on local history in Nelson City and the Nelson and Tasman Region.
Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre
The excellent Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, 5km south of Blenheim, is home to a large collection of rare aircraft.
The museum is split into two main exhibition galleries: Knights of the Sky, which focuses on aviation during The Great War (WWI) and Dangerous Skies, which focuses on aviation during the Second World War.
The Knights of the Sky exhibition features aircraft from the personal collection of film director Sir Peter Jackson as well as an excellent series of dioramas and Dangerous Skies features interactive exhibits that utilise CGI and laser projection. Both exhibitions feature mannequins from Weta Workshop.
Marlborough Musem
The Marlborough Musem is a large regional museum that has exhibits on local history and culture.
The museum features The Wine Exhibition, a permanent exhibit showcasing the history of Marlborough’s wine industry as well as Te Pokohiwi – The Wairau Bar 1250 AD, an exhibit focusing on the archaeology of the Marlborough region’s early Polynesian settlers.
There are also galleries with displays about European settlement in the region, Captain James Cook’s visits to the Marlborough Sounds and the region’s goldmining and whaling heritage.
Edwin Fox Maritime Museum
The Edwin Fox is the world’s ninth oldest ship and is the focal point of this small maritime museum near Picton’s ferry terminal. This ship was built in Kolkata (then Calcutta) in 1853 and is the only surviving wooden ship to carry immigrants to New Zealand and convicts to Australia. It is also the oldest surviving troopship that has served in the Crimean War.
Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre
The Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre is a conservation centre, 25 minutes north of Masterton, where endangered wildlife including kiwi, kaka and tuatara are bred and looked after before being released into the wild.
The wildlife centre features aviaries and a nocturnal kiwi house where you can see kiwi and there are also guided tours and feeding for eels and kaka.
Aratoi – Wairarapa Museum of Art & History
Masterton’s Aratoi – Wairarapa Museum of Art & History has exhibits on local history plus artworks by local artists.
Zealandia Ecosanctuary
Zealandia Ecosanctuary, formerly known as the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, is a wildlife sanctuary in suburban Wellington that is surrounded by an impressive 8.6km-long predator-proof fence. The 225ha (556 acre) sanctuary is a haven for native New Zealand wildlife, particularly birdlife with 40 different recorded species including the hihi (stitchbird), kaka, kererū (New Zealand pigeon), little spotted kiwi, morepork, tīeke (saddleback) and the tui, as well as reptiles including the tuatara and the Wellington green gecko.
General admission is valid for two days and lets you explore the 35km of scenic walking tracks at your own leisure. The Zealandia by Day and Zealandia by Night tours include the standard general admission in addition to a tour by an experienced guide who can point out the best of the sanctuary’s unique wildlife.
Zealandia by Day
This is a two-hour tour that gives you the opportunity to see wildlife that is active during daylight. During this tour you may see tuatara and weta as well as the following native bird species: hihi (stitchbird), kaka, kākāriki, kererū (New Zealand pigeon), takahē, tīeke (saddleback) and whitehead.
ZEALANDIA By Day from Zealandia Ecosanctuary on Vimeo.
Zealandia by Night
This 2½-hour tour departs at dusk, after the sanctuary has closed to the general public, giving you the opportunity to see native wildlife that is more active at night. During this tour you can see glow-worms, Maud Island frog, New Zealand longfin eel, tuatara and weta as well as the following native bird species: brown teal, little spotted kiwi, kaka, morepork and takahē.
The highlight of this tour is the unique opportunity to see the most famous of New Zealand’s noctural birdlife, the kiwi. Although spotting a kiwi is not guaranteed, with 130 little spotted kiwi living in the park your chances are pretty high (around 80%). That makes this possibly the best place outside Stewart Island to see a kiwi in its native habitat.
ZEALANDIA By Night from Zealandia Ecosanctuary on Vimeo.
While the daytime tours offer the best photo opportunities, it is the night tour that really lets you see some of the country’s unique birdlife like the little spotted kiwi and the morepork.