塔瓦提博物馆

this place is an Aladdin's cave of artefacts from settler and Maori history, plus the figures in the scenes are fantastic. we also went on the whaler/sealer exhibit involving a boat ride a bit like a fairground ride through replica scenery. The latter was not as informative as i'd have liked but on exiting you walk through a very helpful gallery of material and commentary which in hindsight was probably best after the atmospheric part of the tour. well done museum designers! café very average was only downer.

Set at least 3-4 hours aside to be able to see all exhibits. Cafe was good too. The new extension "Whalers and Traders is worth the time to see as well.

Tawhiti Museum locally owned by Nigel Ogle and created by Nigel Ogle including all the mannequins used in the lifelike displays. Our local history is displayed in a fabulous way with a train ride and boat ride included for you to experience. A cafe is also on site run by Nigel's wife. This award winning musuem really is a must see.

Always take visitors here. Interesting and thorough history of the area. An amazing amount of time and work has been put in.

Tawhiti museum has certainly succeeded in making the regional history interesting. There are two exhibitions, each with its own entry and ticket. I went to Traders and Whalers, a portrayal of the history of early contact between Maori people and international traders. No walls of writing and pictures in this museum! Instead, there are life-like models of people in scenes depicting some of the typical activity of the day, viewed from a boat which is conveyed, theme-park-style, along rollers. The boat ride is short, but well-designed and interesting. The next section contains a series of dioramas in fascinating detail. I liked the fact that the museum presented one aspect of one region's history, rather than attempting to show a large amount of information. I was able to more easily relate to the stories and the lives portrayed.

Has been about 15 years since I visited Tawhiti Museum and I am very impressed with how far they have come! My 4 year old son was blown away and loved the train and boat rides! Definitely worth paying the extra money to go on those rides, the train driver is full of knowledge and good humour and the boat ride was eery and wonderfully set out! Will be back, and hopefully won't be another 15 years away!

Brilliant place, if you want to learn all about the Taranaki region over the years gone past this is the place for you. It`s full of all the old tools and farm machinery from tractors to old motorcycle, to trucks etc it`s a " Gota-go-there" attraction. We spent hrs looking round and finished up at the end of the day having a nice cuppa and sticky bun in their café`.

We visited this museum years ago and found it very interesting, and recently went to see the traders and whalers exhibition. It is excellent. The attention to detail on the models is amazing. Your entry fee also gives you entry into the Ronald Hugh Morreison exhibition and the farmpower hall which has the most amazing display of vintage machinery and tools.

We visited the Tawhiti museum and the Traders & Whalers. Both are extremely well done! Loved the sense of humor that came through too. We spent a few hours there and will be back again.

i am not usually into museums but this is so much more than a museum.The Traders and Whalers is a must see. You drift along in a boat in a darkened tunnel and see how the sailors and Maori traded food for muskets. It is all very life like and a bit like Pirates of the Caribbean.The museum is excellent, a lot of the models are sculptured on people the artist knows and have real character. There is a lovely train ride through the forest and a nice cafe and two gift shops. It costs $15.00 to go to the museum and $15.00 for Traders and Whalers, $6.00 for the train ride. It sounds a lot but definitely worth it. You don't have to do all three,you can choose but if you have the time do the three. Allow 5 hours to do them properly. Tawhiti is a bit hard to find but worth the effort. We had a great day here

Spent a good 3 hours at here marvelling at all it had to offer. The adults thoroughly enjoyed it. Fair to say that it perhaps didn't hold the attention of our teenagers for as long. Adults $15 & Kids $5. Unusually, you can choose between visiting the Main museum for this price, then double the entrance fee if you'd like to visit the Whalers and Traders exhibit (with the boat ride.) I was pleased we did both. The boat ride is rather tame but very clever. The models throughout the museum are great works of art & quite realistic- ie better than in Waiouru's Army museum, I thought.We found the museum staff very friendly & helpful. The café food looked fab although the drinks seemed slightly pricey. There are indoor & outdoor tables available. Could certainly recommend the museum to those that enjoy a bit of nostalgia.

You have 3 activities to choose from.1. The Museum. $15 adult2. Trader's and Whalers. $15 adult3. The Bush Train. not sure on priceWe only did the museum. Well worth the money. All the displays are hand made by the owner. the detail is over the top.We will be back to do Traders and Whalers. The only let down was the cafe.

This museum is located in an old dairy factory off a side road not far from Hawera and approximately 50 minutes drive from New Plymouth. It is a well worth the drive to visit this museum as it has some great exhibits and amazing dioramas both large and small. The owner Nigel Ogle is a very talented model maker and has produced some very life like figures. In addition to the main museum building there are several smaller buildings displaying aspects of Taranakis history plus a large display hall with a good display of vintage tractors, farm implements and military vehicles. I loved the home built boxthorn hedge trimmers which had been built on WWII Universal carriers.We also took a trip on their bush railway (check the operating days for this as it doesn't go every day) and went on a boat ride in the Traders and Whalers display. The museum, bush railway and Traders and Whalers all have separate charges so you can choose to visit all of them or if you don't have enough time you can just pay to visit one of the attractions. We spent over four hours here and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a must do if you are visiting Taranaki

Go visit! well worth it ... and the little cafe has lovely food. The attention to detail is superb and there is something interesting for all the family.

This place was a real surprise - being off the beaten path we were uncertain about making the deviation to get there but our friends insisted that it was worth it. They were right and we'd happily go again.