Discover fascinating stories of real New Zealanders and experience a recreated gold-rush village.

West Coast isolation, extreme weather and rugged terrain produced stories of fortitude and ingenuity.

Shantytown tells these pioneering stories through a fascinating mix of experience and displays.

Shantytown activities

• Ride the steam train through native rainforest.
• Experience the sights and sounds of a working sawmill.
• Watch the sluice gun blast gold bearing rock and soil from the earth.
• Follow the races to the gold claim and pan for your own gold.
• The village, with 30 shops and buildings to explore shows life the way it used to be.
• Catch the show in our new holographic theater.
• For a memento of Shantytown nothing is better than an old time photo.