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.

In May, we are open Wednesday to Sunday.

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.

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.

Book a guided tour during the day

Find out more about private guided tours

to learn about the henge and its link with the past, with ancient civilisations and Māori starlore, Polynesian navigation and archeoastronomy.

Our regular programme is:

Visit the Henge

10:00AM – 4:00PM

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

June and 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 June – Wednesday to Sunday and Anzac Day.

Take a Star safari at night

Find out more

would you live on Mars?

Visit our mars exhibition

Our Mars exhibition was officially opened by US Embassy New Zealand’s Deputy Chief of Mission Kevin Covert. The exhibition is a project of the New Zealand Astrobiology Network’s Executive Director Haritina Mogoșanu and was possible with a generous grant from the US Embassy New Zealand, who is the principal sponsor, the Phoenix Astronomical Society (NZ) and support from Milky Way Kiwi. Here are some photos from the opening, courtesy of the US Embassy. Entry to the exhibition is FREE if you purchased a ticket for Stonehenge Aotearoa.
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What can you do here?

ANytime daytime – take a self guided tour

Come and see the henge during daytime without any appointment. See our opening hours at the end of this page.
Every day we are open you can book a private tour of the henge with Richard Hall.

friday and saturday nighttime – star safari

Every Friday and Saturday, Milky-Way.Kiwi takes you on a Star Safari, a night of astronomy and space. Weather permitting, they open their powerful telescopes and gaze at the dark Wairarapa sky.

You will get a fun, inspiring night with our elite space science communicators: Hari, a TEDx-featured astrobiologist who interned at NASA and trained for Mars and Sam, who is pursuing his passion for astrophysics and stars, after having spent years flying amongst them as a pilot.

Hari and Sam share their love for space and astronomy through Star Safari, which is a social enterprise that brings access to the night sky for everyone. If you have kids 15 and under, bring them for free for the Star Safari! Kids should not pay for inspiration.

What’s on

JOin us
for a guided tour during daytime
Guided tour during daytime.
By appointment. Bookings essential!
Find out more
Book now
Venture
on a star safari
Friday and Saturday nights
(or other times by appointment).
Star Safari is a space and astronomy experience provided by Milky-Way.Kiwi Ltd. It includes stargazing if the stars are visible.

Star Safari is very popular, so bookings are essential because the places fill up fast.

Find out more
Book now

visit our mars EXHIBITION – opens 15 November
The New Zealand Astrobiology Network created this Mars exhibition with support from the US Embassy, Milky-Way.Kiwi and The Phoenix Astronomical Society.
The exhibition is free with entry to Stonehenge Aotearoa
Find out more
events at the henge
We hold 5 key events each year: the equinoxes and solstices, marking each of the four seasons and Matariki Dawn observances.

Throughout the year, we hold many other events. Check out our upcoming events

upcoming Events and courses

Wednesday, May 26 @8:30PM: Total Eclipse of the Super Moon

On May 26th we have a very special celestial event. Not only is it a ‘Super Moon’ but we also have a Total Eclipse. The program begins with a presentation that explains how and what is about to happen and how we get a “super moon’.  This will be followed, weather permitting, with a tour of the night-sky, telescope viewing and, finally the eclipse itself.

Saturday, 19 June, 4:15PM Tales of the Winter Solstice

Come learn about the traditions occurring around the shortest day of the year! The programme consists of watching the sun set over the heel stone (weather permitting) followed by a presentation by Richard Hall of the tales and history of the Winter Solstice over both time and cultures

Continue reading “What can you do here?” →
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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” →