National Army Museum — Attraction in North Island

Where do I start with is amazing & humbling museum.....as a WW2 collector this museum blew my mind full stop.

The exhibits run from the early Maori wars all the way to the present day conflicts. They are thoughtfully presented & informative. Exhibits are very well maintained & thought provoking. I’ve been to many military museums & so if the exhibits are very dated & are not accurate. This is not the case here, not one bit!

It was a treat to be able to touch many of the WW2 exhibits & to be able to take detailed photos.

The medal room is very humbling & to be honest beyond description.

Many interactive exhibits for the little ones & a well appointed cafe for taking a break over an L&P & a Mince n Cheese.

My friend & I struck up a conversation with one of the volunteers & gabbed about collecting & history for nearly 45 mins.

I recommend arriving early so you can have a few hrs to take it all in. There is so much to see you don’t want to rush it.

Also take some time to check out the reference library even if your not a student of history or a collector.

The drive from Taupo is well worth it. The scenery will leave you speechless.

Plenty of parking & the staff is very friendly & accommodating

The gift shop has something for everyone &...

The mess tent cafe was delicious.

That said, we placed our order first in our group, and we waited for 30 minutes for our food. During that time the other two orders in our group came and they were half way done and I thought I should go and inquire about our missing order.

When I mentioned I was waiting for order number 6, the lady went and asked the kitchen and they said they didn’t have an order number 6! Apparently they lost the ticket or it fell down and they didn’t notice. The front lady was polite enough but made it sound like if we didn’t want to wait we would be able to order food down the road. I politely said no, I want to wait since there isn’t much of an option and my kids were so hungry. They offered a side of chips for the trouble and our food came out 15 minutes later. The loaded chips we ordered were cold in the center and the cheese wasn’t melted but they were otherwise tasty. The rest of the food was great.

My sons ordered hot chocolates and they said it was the best they’ve ever had. That’s saying something since they’re hot chocolate connoisseurs lol.

Will be back to visit the museum next time we are...

The National Army Museum was absolutely epic!

As someone who’s always been fascinated by warfare and military history, I found it super fun and engaging to walk through the exhibits. There was so much to learn and take in—from the detailed displays to the actual weapons and artefacts on show.

It was especially interesting to see the New Zealand side of the wars, something you don’t often get to dive deep into elsewhere. The way they presented the stories and sacrifices was both informative and respectful, making it a memorable and meaningful experience.

Getting to see the guns, uniforms, and historical artefacts up close really added to the experience, and the layout made it easy to explore at your own pace.

If you’re into military history, or even if you’re just curious about New Zealand’s role in global events, this museum is definitely...