Like me, did you think the Waitangi Treaty Grounds would be free to enter?

Unfortunately not. As of July 2020 the cost to visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds are:

• Adults (International): $50
• Adults (NZ’ers): $25
• Under 18;s: Free

This is for the simple day pass (which is valid for two consecutive days).

For the large majority of you, this is all you’ll want. There are other options and add on which cost more.

That’s more expensive than I expecting. As New Zealand’s most important historic site I thought entrance would be free, like Te Papa.

Pro Tip: Check out BookMe.co.nz, I was able to get a ticket for $21.50. Every dollar counts 😉

So I visited and spent four hours at the grounds. If for no other reason than to experience where this happened:

Now, back to a more serious note.

I’ll go through my experience before deciding if I think it’s worth visiting or not.

WHAT DOES THE WAITANGI DAY PASS INCLUDE?

• entry to the two museums (Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi and Te Rau Aroha museum)
• a guided tour
• a cultural performance
• you also get full acess to the grounds where you’ll see the treaty house, a massive war canoe, Hobson’s Beach, flagstaff, and a carving studio
• there’s also a cafe on-site and gift shop

IS IT ANY GOOD?

I figure the best way to determine this is by talking about each of the items included in the day pass individually.

THE WAITANGI CULTURAL PERFORMANCE

Having experienced a few cultural performances around the world, this one was great. When arriving at the Marae, you’re given a quick introduction about what to expect and how to act. That means no video recording once you’re inside the Marae. Photos are ok.

I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s about 40 minutes long and held my attention with a cool little Q&A to finish.

p.s. if they need a volunteer to be the chief, go for it 🙂

THE GUIDED TOUR

I did the guided tour after visiting Te Kōngahu Museum and the cultural performance. In hindsight, I think the tour should be the first thing you do.

The guide gives you some information on the background on Waitangi which builds a good foundation for the rest of your visit.

They do give you a headset to listen to the guide which was nice. If they did a self-guided audio tour, that’d be even better. It does not make or break the day if you haven’t got time to do the tour.

TE KONGAHU MUSEUM

This is the original museum and the one I preferred. Despite being Kiwi, my knowledge around 1840 and the events that took place isn’t great. The way the information told the story very well.

TE RAU AROHA MUSEUM

This museum goes into the New Zealand wars more than the other museum as well as the Maori Battalion. I must say I never learned about the New Zealand wars in school, and from asking friends it is definitely inconsistent. Some mentioned it felt like that’s all they ever learned about, and others were like me and never knew about them.

This museum focuses on a couple of aspects of what happened in the events after 1840 which was interesting too. But if you want a general grasp of what led up to the treaty signing, started with the Te Kongahu Museum.

THE TREATY HOUSE

This was a sneaky good place to walk through. It reminded me of the Mansion on Kawau Island where much of the layout has been preserved, including the room where the treaty was signed. You can spend 10 minutes inside and feel like you’ve seen everything.

IS WAITANGI WORTH IT?

If you look at the raw value, $25 for two museums, a cultural performance, and a guided tour is good value. For example, on the 2-3 hour free walking tour in Auckland a $10 donation is usually the minimum expectation.

So for kiwis at $25 it is IF you are genuinely interested in the grounds. I had some friends head up to the Bay of Islands who decided not to go. They thought it was free, and figured they’d go along just to see what the story is. But they weren’t super enthused about going and for $25 they didn’t feel like they would come away feeling great.

Waitangi is unique. Across NZ there are lots of museums you can learn about parts of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds but they don’t compare to visiting the actual site. When you’re on-site you build a better picture in your mind of the events that were important at the time. And in the future when events related to Waitangi come around, you’ll have a much b

If you’re a group of adults, $25 per adult shouldn’t blow your budget out too much.

What about $50 for international adults? Ugh, I find that hard to justify. I think $25 is a fair price for all. $50 might not prevent some from visiting, but I bet there are lots of people who see the price tag and instantly dismiss the visit. But I guess that’s where the difference between running a business and running a place that’s open for all comes into play.

Should it be free?

I think so? Although I’m not sure what the running costs involved are and how much the Government would need to contribute.

As New Zealand’s most historic site, the cost of visiting for Kiwi’s shouldn’t be a factor. The two-tiered pricing is common around the world, and whether you agree with it or not (I’m not sure if I do) the system here is a bit odd. Why not make it super affordable for kiwis? A gold coin donation perhaps? And then you could put some donation boxes around the grounds if needed.

When Kiwis are visit Waitangi, I bet there are lots who are talking about the price of the visit and discussing is it worth it versus discussing the history and learnings of the day.

Because we do want to feel like we’re getting value. Make it free for the day pass and keep the high prices for the premium experiences.

Does free work though? In 2018/19 Te Papa collected $4.3m from donations and sponsors. Granted a lot more people visit Te Papa (for lots of reasons) compared to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

With that said, I also came across this article that said the Waitangi Trust received $4 million from the Government (Te Papa got $18 million). If they hadn’t they might have had to close down. I do think maintaining a core staff during the winter months is not an excuse to burn through cash (they reference think in the NZ Herald article above). I’m sure these staff could be put to use in other ways?

I thought $4 million was a big number, but $18 million, wow. That’s massive. Maybe the $4 million should be a regular thing so they can predict revenue better, and reduce the entry fee as they can plan better with revenue upfront.

All this is to say, I have no idea if $25 is a fair price. But I guess it’s worth it with minimal Government funding.

Well, that got me thinking more than I expected and I don’t want to spend all day writing this section. Did it get you thinking more about what goes into running a museum and tourist attraction? I hope so 🙂

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If you visit, please let me know if you think it was worth visiting! Leave a comment below or email me jub@churnewzealand.com

A FEW MORE PHOTOS

These are additional photos I’ve uploaded 🙂

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RECOMMENDED READING

200+ Things to do in New Zealand

It’s time to get some more ideas of other tourist attractions in New Zealand.

The Kerikeri River Track to Rainbow Falls

If you’re looking for a free activity to do after the Treaty Grounds, check out the Kerikeri River Track.

The Whangarei Falls Walk

A nice waterfall close to the Whangarei City Centre. It’s in a nice park with bushwalks too.