I hadn’t been for years, and so decided to go back with an Explore Tāmaki-Makaurau voucher.
The slightly overgrown in places, well kept but not pristine look of the place actually adds to the vibe, you can easily imagine people living that way, especially when you see the staff walking around in costume.
The signs are either printed on old school typewriters or hand written and there’s plenty of explanation and guidance available for those keen to learn more. I love that you can go in to the buildings and really explore - the roped off sections appear to be mostly to protect displays, which is fair enough.
I had a great hour or so just wandering and learning and enjoying. Took plenty of great photos too! Those attached here are just a sample.
My only niggle (and I understand there was a wedding happening but still) was that the function next door had very loud modern music blasting, which took away from the historic feeling.
Other than that, awesome, relaxed, well explained and a piece of local history worth exploring