This weighty museum plans to reopen after renovation in March 2020. The new space will house Waitaki Taonga (the Willetts Collection), one of the most important collections of first settlement Māori artefacts in NZ, as well as exhibitions linked to the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark and European heritage, including the Victorian era.
North Otago Museum
Dunedin & Otago
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.89 MILES
Every evening the tykes from the Ōamaru blue penguin colony surf in and wade ashore, heading to their nests in an old stone quarry near the waterfront…
0.26 MILES
Consisting of only a couple of blocks centred on Harbour and Tyne Sts, this atmospheric enclave has some of NZ’s best-preserved Victorian commercial…
0.18 MILES
Discover an alternative past – or maybe a quirky version of the future – at this fascinating art project celebrating steampunk culture. Ancient machines…
0.23 MILES
Crammed with weird theatrical sculpture, papier-mâché masks and vintage curiosities, this former Victorian grain store houses an ever-changing cornucopia…
1.6 MILES
Larger and much rarer than their little blue cousins, yellow-eyed penguins waddle ashore at Bushy Beach in the late afternoon from a day of fishing. In…
0.04 MILES
Oamaru’s main drag owes its expansive girth to the need to accommodate the minimum turning circle of a bullock cart. The town's grand pretensions reached…
Maerewhenua Māori Rock Painting Site
21.51 MILES
Sheltered by an impressive limestone overhang with amazing views over the valley, this site contains charcoal-and-ochre paintings dating to before the…
21.95 MILES
Stop into this volunteer-run centre to dig out your own real limestone fossils (to keep!) or check out the frightening 25-million-year-old shark-toothed…
Nearby Dunedin & Otago attractions
0.04 MILES
Oamaru’s main drag owes its expansive girth to the need to accommodate the minimum turning circle of a bullock cart. The town's grand pretensions reached…
0.09 MILES
Housed in an elegant, temple-like former bank building, the Forrester Gallery was closed for renovations at the time of research, but should be open in…
0.18 MILES
Discover an alternative past – or maybe a quirky version of the future – at this fascinating art project celebrating steampunk culture. Ancient machines…
0.22 MILES
Opened in 1876, these beautiful gardens are among the oldest in New Zealand, and are a lovely place to stroll and relax, with expansive lawns, waterways,…
0.23 MILES
Crammed with weird theatrical sculpture, papier-mâché masks and vintage curiosities, this former Victorian grain store houses an ever-changing cornucopia…
0.26 MILES
Consisting of only a couple of blocks centred on Harbour and Tyne Sts, this atmospheric enclave has some of NZ’s best-preserved Victorian commercial…
0.3 MILES
Ōamaru's heyday is brought to life by costumed guides inside this 1882 grain store – and you too can don vintage costumes (adult/child $20/10) and get…
0.39 MILES
Steampunk for kiddies: this unusual playground includes swings suspended from a giant penny farthing, a slippery pole accessed from an armoured elephant,…