Taupo Museum, Ora Garden & Art Gallery, Taupo
Taupo history is cool …
Discover some unexpected treasures at the Taupo Museum and share in the special history, culture and stories of our community. You can find us close to the town centre shops and Taupo I-site, with convenient parking, in the Tongariro Domain.
Travel back in time and find out more about the powerful Ngati Tuwharetoa tribe, who have inhabited this area for centuries.
Climb aboard our 1950s time capsule – the Kiwiana Caravan for a reminder of those lazy daisy kiwi holidays of yesteryear when the sun always shone and the ozone layer was no big deal.
Feel the weight of an 18.5 lb rainbow trout. This mighty 8.4 kg fish was caught on the Waitahanui River in 1945 and is one of the biggest landed since the heyday of the fishery 100 years ago.
Taupo Ora Garden
View ‘Ora – the Garden of Wellbeing’, a fabulous ‘living’ exhibit at the museum complete with steaming silica terraces made in the Weta Workshop and a native birdsong soundtrack. This was Tourism New Zealand’s gold medal-winning entry at London’s Chelsea Flower Show in 2004 designed to showcase and capture the essence of the central North Island.
Taupo Art Gallery
There’s great New Zealand art to see and buy in the latest changing exhibition in our art gallery and we stock interesting work by local artists in the shop along with a range of souvenirs.
Join a one-hour heritage walk from the museum to the Taupo boat harbour taking in points of interest on the historic Tongariro Domain - every Sunday at 2pm, weather permitting. Free with museum entry.
Visit Taupo Museum for a unique blend of heritage and culture celebrating the Taupo region.
Open daily from 10am to 4.30pm (closed Good Friday and Christmas Day).
Prices: (rates quoted in NZ$, subject to change)
Museum entry (includes Ora Garden): Adults: $5; Senior Citizens and Students: $3; Children (school age and under): free; Taupo District residents: free with ID.