Auckland Attractions

Venue: NZ National Maritime Museum    When: Daily

Opened to the public in August 1993, Auckland's NZ National Maritime Museum tells the story of Maori and New Zealanders' love, and dependence on, the sea. In addition to heritage vessels collected or built by the museum itself, visitors can view Te Waka: Our Great Journey, a ten-minute digitally animated film telling New Zealand's first maritime story.

Encapsulating how the Polynesians discovered Aotearoa ("the land of the long white cloud") and became Maori, this extraordinary film is shown every 15 minutes in the specially-constructed Pacific Discovery Theatre, with its 12 x 3 metre, wrap-around 180° screen.

In the museum's 14 galleries you can see original Polynesian craft (Hawaiki Gallery), as well as works of art inspired by the sea in the Edminston Gallery of Maritime Art and displays of the Western immigration that saw some 300,000 endure a six-month sea journey in the 1840s to start a new life in a new land. You can see how small the cabins were and feel what it was like on board, as the deck moves continually below you. Coming up-to-date, there's a whole gallery devoted to the history of the America's Cup.

Outside on the spectacular harbour you can take a much shorter voyage on some of the museum's heritage vessels. While the 80-ton floating crane Rapaki, built in Scotland in 1926, may not be for thrill-seekers, try the 19th-century steam launch PUKE (pronounced "poo-kee" before you get any other ideas!) or the 60-foot Breeze, a typical 19th century inter-Dominion but actually built to traditional designs in 1981 by Ralph Sewell and going on to win the 1991 Tall Ships race.

The museum's flat-bottomed, centreboard ketch-rigged deck scow - built by staff and volunteers - was launched in August 1993. Named after Ted Ashby, author of the definitive history of such vessels, Phantom Fleet, it is one of only a dozen of its type out of the 130 originals, locally built between 1873 and 1925, bringing a New Zealand touch to the design, adopted from North Amercia's Great Lake boats.