A re-enactment at Peter Jackson's Ōmaka Aviation Heritage Centre. Photo / Geoff Soper
A re-enactment at Peter Jackson's Ōmaka Aviation Heritage Centre. Photo / Geoff Soper
When the weather is cold, what better way to explore than at one of the many world-class museums we have in New Zealand. Brett Atkinson discovers a fascinating collection of heritage planes, trains and automobiles around the country.
Motat, Auckland
With two sites across almost 20ha, there's plenty to exploreat Auckland's Museum of Transport & Technology. Built around a heritage pump house that originally supplied Auckland with water from nearby Western Springs, transport highlights at Motat 1 include New Zealand's first beer tanker.
The nearby Motat 2 site houses the Aviation Display Hall, including a World War II Lancaster Bomber and a more modern Skyhawk. Once operated on the South Pacific's Coral Route by Teal, the forerunner to Air New Zealand, Motat's Short Solent Mark IV flying boat is the only one still in existence. A vintage Auckland tram links both sites.
More than 100 classic cars and motorbikes feature in this sprawling collection. Incredibly quirky are tiny cars like the three-wheeled 1958 Isetta Motocoupe, while the 1972 Fiat Bambina 500 would be perfect for lazy laps of Rome's Colosseum.
Retro vintage charm is exuded by pristine 1940s Buick and Chevrolet convertibles, and the crazy 1964 Amphicar – a half-car/half-boat hybrid - is another standout. After taking it all in, check out the museum's 1950s-style Jukebox Diner.
classicsmuseum.co.nz
Southward Car Museum, Paraparaumu
On the Kāpiti Coast north of Wellington, the Southward is one of Australasia's finest collections of vintage and unusual cars. It's the only place in New Zealand you'll see a "Back to the Future"-style DeLorean, and one of the country's oldest cars, an 1895 Benz Velo, first landed in New Zealand in 1900.
There's also Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich's 1934 Cadillac Cabriolet, and a 1950 Cadillac – complete with bullet holes – once owned by Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen. A shimmering array of Italian and American supercars completes a world-class collection.
southwardcarmuseum.co.nz
Ōmaka Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim
Surrounded by Marlborough wine country is this stellar collection of Sir Peter Jackson's replica and original aircraft from World War I and World War II. Realistic dioramas crafted by Weta Workshop bring to life dramatic scenes from the world wars, including the demise of Germany's Red Baron flying ace, and a US Lockheed Hudson bomber crashed in remote South Pacific jungle.
Scenic flights in a Boeing biplane trainer and a Yak-3 Russian World War II fighter are both available.
omaka.org.nz
A re-enactment at Peter Jackson's Ōmaka Aviation Heritage Centre. Photo / Geoff Soper
Nelson Classic Car Museum, Nelson
More than 150 superbly restored cars dating back more than a century fill the excellent Classic Car Museum. Many prestige marques are represented, including Jaguar and Ferrari, while rarely-seen vehicles include a 1908 Renault AX, once a favourite model of Parisian taxi drivers, and a nifty BMW one-seater bubble car that could be the answer to Auckland's parking woes.
nelsonclassiccarmuseum.nz
National Transport & Toy Museum, Wānaka
Located near Wānaka Airport, the National Transport & Toy Museum is a pleasingly eclectic jumble of more than 60,000 items. Twenty different military and civilian aircraft include a MiG 21 jet fighter originally flown by the Polish air force, and more down-to-earth vehicles such as snowmobiles, vintage jet boats and a hovercraft. Sharing the same location is the craft beer tasting room for Wānaka Beerworks.
Part of an exciting complex that also offers go-karts, high-speed laps in a Porsche Cayenne SUV, and drive-yourself sports cars and V8 Muscle Cars, Highlands' National Motorsport Museum includes the Southern Hemisphere's only Aston Martin Vulcan – worth a cool $4.2 million – and memorabilia and displays about New Zealand motorsport legends, including Bruce McLaren and Scott Dixon.
highlands.co.nz
Bill Richardson Transport World, Invercargill
It's official. Invercargill is New Zealand's undisputed capital of transport museums. Transport World is the biggest of the city's three, with 15,000sq m of warehouse space showcasing more than 300 vintage vehicles. Highlights include a very rare fire-engine red 1940 Dodge Airflow oil tanker, some of Henry Ford's earliest cars – predating the iconic Model T – and a world-leading collection of VW Kombi vans.
transportworld.co.nz
Bill Richardson Transport World, Invercargill. Photo / Supplied
Classic Motorcycle Mecca, Invercargill
Further along Invercargill's main drag of Tay St – wide enough for teams of bullocks to pull a "U-ey" in the 19th century - Classic Motorcycle Mecca features more than 300 bikes from as far back as 1902. Of particular interest to New Zealand visitors is a collection remembering the innovative motorbike designer John Britten, and Ivan Mauger's Speedway World Championship-winning bike from 1977.
Need a new hammer or screwdriver? Yes, E. Hayes & Sons is Invercargill's best hardware shop, but it's also an essential destination for fans of legendary Kiwi motorcycling ace Burt Munro. His story was immortalised in the 2005 film, The World's Fastest Indian, and E. Hayes' collection of memorabilia includes Munro's world record-breaking 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle.
