Aotea Utanganui - One of New Zealand’s coolest museums

If you are planning a road trip to New Plymouth or heading to Surf Highway in

Taranaki, be sure to plan to stop off at Patea, the gateway to South Taranaki. This

small town – home of the famed Patea Māori Club known for their song Poi E! –

offers fabulous views of the Taranaki Maunga from the main road that passes

through the town.

On the same road you will find Aotea Utanganui – Museum of South Taranaki. The

museum is an excellent resource for information on the history of South Taranaki.

It also has copies of Secrets of the Land on sale — as my Australian-based cousin

Amy, who is an archivist in Melbourne, discovered when she made a visit to the

museum recently. Thanks for the photo, Amy!