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Spring at the Kauri Museum is the brightest time to visit. A fantastic family day trip one hour’s drive north of Warkworth, the museum on the north shore of the Kaipara Harbour is a complete destination.
The largest purpose-built visitor attraction north of Auckland, it boasts more than 4500 square metres of exhibition halls and galleries. An on-site café serves refreshments and meals in a setting offering expansive view down to the harbour.
Deep in the heart of a long-gone ancient forest, the museum celebrates one of the world’s greatest trees and honours Kiwis’ relationship with it. Stories of courage and determination, tragedy and triumph, boundless hope and unfathomable loss abound here.
Spring is the ideal time to visit the museum, before the busy tourist season begins. Children dan dress up in historical costume, and there are treasure hunt activities to entertain families, with easy, medium and hard options for the young – and the young at heart. Exhibits offer insight into technological change, the decorative arts and social history. Visitors shouldn’t miss the exquisite kauri gum collection, and finished gum and jewellery pieces are available at the museum shop.
In October, the museum’s Gumdigger’s Café is part of the Savour Northland promotion. Two dishes on the menu have been specially crafted to highlight local kai from within a 10km radius of the café – Kaipara oyster chowder and Ruawai sausage and kumara pie.
A new forest walkway is another adventure on offer this spring. Visitors are invited to take a leap into the imagination as the museum narrates the story of the kauri, commencing with the Māori creation legend Te Waonui o Tane. The ethereal journey echoes the essence of forests past and those yet to come, as the museum strives to capture a sense of wonder associated with the ancientness of kauri and their place in the story of Aotearoa.
The museum is also sharing in Maungaturoto Primary School’s 150th jubilee celebrations in October. A grassroots exhibition will showcase the experiences of past students and staff from our archives, alongside projects by current students. A visit to the Pioneer School House will enable visitors to reflect further on social change and developments in school life.
The Kauri Museum is open from 9-5 daily. https://www.kaurimuseum.com/
