Otorohanga Kiwiana Town & Kawhia, North Island

The Otorohanga District

Home of New Zealand's Kiwiana Town

A vibrant, progressive and business-friendly district ideally located in the central North Island.

There's a main street Kiwiana display gallery, murals, sculptures and beautiful flower baskets.
Even the public toilets are a light-hearted tribute to Kiwiana and NZ's popular culture!

Ed Hillary Walkway

As a tribute to a great man, the architecturally designed walkway of 14 (of 24) Kiwiana displays connects the main street to the historic Otorohanga Railway Station, renovated and reinvented as an espresso coffee bar and boutique coffee roaster.

The Kiwiana story boxes offer a great snapshot of New Zealand's popular culture, icons, heritage and heroes.

Kiwiana Town

Otorohanga is full of quirky and informative tributes to Kiwiana - murals, corrugated iron Kiwi sculptures and a whole gallery and arcade of Kiwiana displays in the Ed Hillary Walkway in the centre of town.

Enjoy an espresso at the historic Otorohanga Railway Station, renovated and reinvented as a coffee bar and boutique coffee roaster.

Otorohanga – a thriving rural service town with excellent shopping and service industries.

Kawhia – a coastal village on one of New Zealand's most beautiful harbours; a stronghold of Maori culture and tradition.

Otorohanga District quick facts:

Otorohanga is home to the world famous Kiwi House & Native Bird Park.
Otorohanga has successfully branded itself as New Zealand's official Kiwiana Town.
There's a main street Kiwiana Display Gallery, murals, sculptures and beautiful flower baskets. Even the public toilets are a light-hearted tribute to Kiwiana and NZ's popular culture!
Otorohanga is on a major tourist route - Waitomo Caves Village and an amazing range of tourism and adventure attractions are only 15 minutes from the centre of town
There are stunning West Coast beaches at Kawhia and Aotea - 1 hour's drive
It's central and very accessible:
- Auckland - 2 hours
- Hamilton & Hamilton Airport - 45 minutes
- Central North Island Skifields - 2 hours
- Taupo, Rotorua and East Coast beaches - 1½ hours

“...most of all, I enjoyed walking down your quaint main street with its many colorful shops & restaurants. My only regret was that I did not have more time to enjoy everything your wonderful town has to offer." - Otorohanga visitor

Our beautiful location means a relaxed, enjoyable lifestyle with some of the most reasonable real estate prices in the country.

For those planning a visit, a week will give you time to enjoy all there is to see and do; you need at least a long weekend to experience all our most famous attractions, everything from the Waitomo Caves to beautiful Kawhia on the West Coast.

Otorohanga i-SITE Visitor Information Centre has a free booking service for visitor attractions.

This official information website, brought to you by the Otorohanga District Development Board Inc. has information for visitors, residents and people keen to establish a business in the Otorohanga District.