Skip the Line: Shantytown Heritage Park Experience
4.0
44 Ratings
Greymouth

Immerse yourself in the gold-rush era at Shantytown Heritage Park. Ride a steam train, visit a working sawmill, pan for gold, and explore over 30 shops and buildings.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Shantytown Heritage Park - Nestled conveniently between Greymouth and Hokitika on the West Coast, Shantytown is just a short 3km detour from the main highway (SH6).
    Open Daily 10am - 3pm (except Christmas Day). For a complete Shantytown experience, we suggest setting aside a minimum of 90 minutes.
    Upon entry, you’ll receive a self-guided tour map…
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What's Included
  • Inclusion of Goods and Services Tax (GST)
What's Not Included
  • Gold Panning
  • Old Time Photos
  • All Food and Beverages
Additional Information

Step back in time and discover a replica gold-rush village set in the late 1800’s. Discover legendary stories through a fascinating mix of experience and display. Ride the Steam Train through native rain forest, experience the sights and sounds of a working sawmill, watch the sluice gun blast gold bearing rock and soil from the earth, then follow the…

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Location
Shantytown Heritage Park
316 Rutherglen Rd, Paroa
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.0
(44 Ratings)
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4robynt
Nov 5, 2024
Shantytown - Shouldn't be Missed on the West Coast ... - This was an amazing experience. the town is awesome, the train fabulous, the gold panning was awesome. Lunch at the Cafe was delicious and well priced and came with out a long wait. An allround excellent experience I would recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
319jackiep
Aug 1, 2024
Shantytown a must do on the West Coast - What an incredible experience made all the better by the friendly staff. The train trip and gold panning were incredible but Chinatown is my stand out memory. How those miners managed to live in such primitive conditions is beyond me.
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Carolgx8730cr
Jun 20, 2024
Interactive, immersive experience of a bygone era - From moment I entered Heritage Park I was immersed into a bygone era. The old tearooms provided an excellent cooked breakfast ($18) whilst listening to 1920s music on original radio. Steam train journey was a joy travelling through the rain forest with engaging Driver / Conductor both most informative. The old saw mill with visuals, walking through bush to appreciate how the old gold miners lived and worked with excellent interactive models. Shown the old sluicing ways then able to sluice gold myself. The history at this place is staggering. Visiting the old foundry, seeing old boilers and train engines with total immersion experience. A destination to revisit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
20jag20
Mar 5, 2024
Shantytown something for everyone - It was easy to find. We enjoyed the train ride and watching the Weka and chicks. The exhibits were interesting and varied. The the staff and guided were friendly and knowledgeable. We all enjoyed our time there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mobile48809046862
Jan 25, 2024
FUN, FUN, FUN - Amazing people, Such a lot of fun, loved it and highly recommend it to all. BUT BEWARE, you may get GOLD FEVER, LOL. My husband has it and sees every stream as a possibility to go panning in.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Resort17559929627
Mar 4, 2024
Welcome reminder - Yet another reminder from history that the deeds of our forebears took some doing and shouldn’t be forgotten. Well done to the conservation group for their restoration work
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Geof_w
May 1, 2024
An older couples experience on the West Coast of New Zealand - I am sorry to have to write such a negative review but unfortunately this experience was not worthwhile. The videos of the place featured an active vibrant place. The staff did their best and were very engaged but the whole experience was very disappointing. It was very lifeless despite lots of featured stories of dead ones along the walks.
Review provided by Viator
S6019xpbrians
Jan 4, 2024
Tired old town - Whilst mildly interesting and quirky, the place just feels tired. The movie theatre was out of order, the old time photos were not operating, a number of the displays in the mining village were not working. The gold panning was a bit of fun, even for the older kids. Maybe come here for a bit of nostalgia if that's your thing, just keep your expectations low. Certainly don't come for lunch! The icecreams are yummy though.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Malcolm
Jul 12, 2023
Very tired - Very tired. Stayed for 20mins, then left. Would struggle to think of a redeeming quality. Shame, kids were looking fwd to it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wanderer57034758230
Jan 3, 2024
Not good sadly 😢 - Was a bit disappointed with the lack of atmosphere, the train could of gone more frequent with the amount of people wishing to board, there were no slots for photos as told they were all booked, in 2 hours never seen any photos been taken, the bar had no staff, we were completely confused with China town!! No movie was on, will not come back sadly
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
December 2024
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