Thames Goldmine Experience — Attraction in North Island

Oh the memories! Going here as a kid with my primary school group on a camping trip and now coming back as an adult to relive those memories.

The amount of 19th century artifacts on display is too much to go into detail but certainly my favorite part of the whole experience is the operating of the Stamper Battery that takes place on the tour, the guide whom sadly I didn't get the name of a wonderful older gentleman with brilliant narration skills and a lot of knowledge about the processes and machinery that go into the historic day to day running of the mine.

The tour takes you through a small section of the actual gold mine as well, with drives branching off in different directions visible behind barriers, and evident pick marks, oxidation of the minerals, and the atmosphere of the whole place is just incredible and very informative.

If you asked me would I recommend this to parents wanting to take their kids on a fun, informative learning experience absolutely! In my opinion visiting a historic site like this or a museum of sorts is the best way to learn about history, seeing the machinery up close and personal, watching it operate, being able to touch and feel the artifacts that they have on display with the guide.

All of it, is absolutely incredible so yes I would recommend going here and I'll definitely be coming back hopefully sooner...

A sign at the entrance to the town of Thames announces: "Our heritage is gold"; the Thames Gold Mine Experience explains why. Plan to spend about an hour at the three-part experience, beginning with a historic film showing miners at work in 1949, only a few years before the last gold mine in the area closed for good. Next you don a hard hat and enter the mine shaft for a short guided tour (which can be a little muddy, so wear appropriate shoes), and finally you see a demonstration of how the rock-crushing machinery works. You're also free to wander around the grounds and even try panning for gold (but don't expect to see much that glitters). Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly, and it was interesting ro learn about how the mines affected the development of the area. Definitely...

Such an excellent place to visit as a child and an adult! The walk through the mine is brilliant. Wear boots or good shoes if it's been wet as it is a legit clay earth and rock floor. One set of stairs you have to climb. Your own torch is handy too. We used our phone torch for extra light. The tour leaders are great and show and explain the history and the layout of the drives, shafts and workings. The working stamper is also excellent and we spent ages gold panning in the shade under the covered panning area. Picnic tables and a nice grassy area and a box of toys in the photo room. Well worth the $20 adult and $5 kids and look forward to when they get the blacksmith forge up an working. ...