We are open every day on school holidays and look forward to seeing you here.

Welcome to stonehenge Aotearoa,

New Zealand’s unique open air astronomical observatory. We look forward to seeing you here during our regular opening hours and for special events.

You can visit the henge anytime we are open, without having to make any appointment.
A map of the Stonehenge Aotearoa structure and a short audio-visual explaining how the stones work are included in the visit. Our regular programme is:

Visit the Henge

10:00AM – 4:00PM

We are open from Wednesday to Sunday and every day on school holidays

From May to July – Saturday, Sunday and on Queen’s Birthday
From 1st of August to 22nd of December – Wednesday to Sunday and Labour Day.
From 28th of December to 31st of January – We are open every day!
From February to April – Wednesday to Sunday and Anzac Day.

Take a Star safari to the henge at night

Friday and Saturday

From 1st of May to 30th of September 7:30PM – 10:30PM
From 1st of October to 30th of April 8:30PM – 11:30PM

Join us every Friday and Saturday for a night tour of Stonehenge Aotearoa. Live stargazing follows weather permitting. You can find more details about it here.

Learn about the cycles of nature, movements of celestial bodies and archeoastronomy: how our ancestors have understood the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role the sky played in their cultures.

Panel 1

What can you do at Stonehenge Aotearoa?

From here, you can explore the Universe and rediscover the knowledge of our ancestors.

We are a fully functional astronomical observatory, aligned to New Zealand’s sky, inspired by the original 4000 years old pre-historic monument, Stonehenge. We host four key events each equinox and solstice marking each of the four seasons, Matariki Dawn observances, and many other events throughout the year. Every Friday and Saturday, weather permitting, we open our powerful telescopes and gaze at the dark Wairarapa sky.

The telescope viewing is weather-dependant. When the sky is cloudy, we provide a full tour of the henge at night. Check the weather updates on the Star-Safari page.

ANytime – self guided tour

Come and see the henge anytime during our opening hours without any appointment!

Besides that, you can also:

JOin us
for a guided tour

By appointment. Bookings essential!

Find out more
Book now
Venture
on a star safari

Every Friday and Saturday we host a night guided tour of the henge followed by stargazing, weather permitting.

Bookings essential.

Find out more
Book now
Take
the Stonehenge Experience

By appointment. Bookings essential!

Find out more
Book now

Or check out our Saturday courses.

3
October2020
Telescope Course Everything you need to know if you want a telescope or your current one is getting dusty. A 1-day telescope course on Saturdays
Find out more details.
2pm-6pm and night time observingStonehenge Aotearoa
10
October2020
Astrophotography Course4 hours of astrophotography theory followed by 3 hours observing – weather permitting.
Find out more details.
2pm-6pm and night time observingStonehenge Aotearoa
17
October2020
Stargazing Course Introduction to the Night Sky for absolute beginners. You will know your way around the night sky and what to do for next steps. Observing is weather dependant.
Find out more details.
2pm-6pm and night time observingStonehenge Aotearoa
24
October2020
Introduction to AstronomyWe cover basics of astronomy. Great course for teachers, students or astronomy enthusiasts. Observing is weather dependant.
Find out more details.
2pm-6pm and night time observingStonehenge Aotearoa
Friday 13 November 7PM – Celestial Navigation
Crossing the oceans has been a human achievement for thousands of years but how did those navigators find their way when there was no land, no mountains or familiar coastlines. Today …
Come celebrate the Spring Equinox with us!
Have you ever wondered about what other people traditionally do around this day of the year? Why don’t you join us at Stonehenge to find out? We have two events scheduled, …
Continue reading “What can you do at Stonehenge Aotearoa?” →
Panel 3

Learn

We offer science courses in stargazing, introduction to astronomy, telescope courses and astrophotography. These are held mostly every Saturday from 2:00PM to 6:00PM and are followed by a Star Safari by the Henge with our astronomy educators.

We also have an upcoming Mars exhibition, which will be the first Mars permanent exhibition for New Zealand. We look forward to seeing you here for all these events.

VENTURE WITH US BEYOND EARTH!

What’s in the night sky this month? Listen to our free podcast

Continue reading “Learn” →
Panel 4

Community Events

Part of our special events we organise music concerts, fairs, and we welcome our community for functions, weddings, anniversaries, memorials and family festivals.

Continue reading “Community Events” →