An Aviation Museum Like No Other, MOTAT Aviation Hall Auckland

I recently visited New Zealand for Chinese New Year and during my time in Auckland I had a few days to check out all the museums and galleries. I’ve always been fascinated by aviation so had to visit the MOTAT aviation hall, and I was absolutely blown away.

You’re greeted by a mounted spitfire at the entrance and then a very unassuming warehouse, as soon as you step through the door you can see the sheer scale of this building.

There is a small entrance lobby, ticket office and gift shop then a huge warehouse full of beautifully restored aircraft both military and civilian.

The warehouse is spaciously laid out and there’s a lot of educational content, I spent a lot of time reading and taking everything in. The overall visit took me 2 hours but if you don’t read everything you can do it in less than an hour.

For me the flying boats were a highlight for me; it’s so hard to find these in museums especially ones so immaculately restored. It was also fascinating to learn so much about pacific island flying during the golden age of travel

I would totally recommend this to families and anyone who has any interest in aviation or transport in general.


It coats $19NZ / £8.50 and included a free tram ride to the other half of the campus, however you have to pay again to enter the other campus.

#celebrateit #auckland #motat #aviation #museums #educational #family #travel #thingstodo #myitinerary

Post by Jamie Daniel Ali | Mar 4, 2025