The Southward Car Museum

Look­ing for some­thing to do with all these loooong, sun­ny days we’re hav­ing? Let me rec­om­mend a trip to the South­ward Car Muse­um, just north of Para­pa­rau­mu.

Dri­ving into the carpark you feel like you’ve spent back in time — to the 1960s. The build­ing is fan­tas­tic, a large con­crete bunker. The grounds are care­ful­ly man­i­cured, with beds of marigolds. Take your old Tup­per­ware pic­nic set and relive a sim­pler time.

Walk­ing in, there is a 1960s Fer­rari on a rotat­ing plinthe, and a gor­geous Mer­cedes sports car. You can’t help but play “which car would you take home” — except by the time you leave it is “which dozen cars, planes, and bikes would you take home”.

Entry is $10 for adults, $3 for chil­dren (5–15), and pre-school­ers are free.