There are a few towns in New Zealand that every time I visit they just get better and better. Whangarei is definitely one of those for me.
Hundertwasser Art Centre
Last time we were in Whangarei the Hundertwasser Art Centre was still being constructed so that was top of our list to visit when we returned.
I love anything that colours outside the lines. Hundertwasser Art Centre is right off the page. I’m loosely paraphrasing here (which never goes overly well for me here) but Friedensreich Hundertwasser was an Austrian painter, architect, and ecologist who made New Zealand his home. A love of spirals and an aversion to square walls he appears in odd socks in one of the videos in the media room – an utterly quirky character – who not only made NZ his home but left a little something of himself here permanently after he left it.
The thing I loved most about Hundertwasser Art Centre was the floors. Undulating and unlike any floor I’d seen before they were designed to reflect nature. And they did – and just like nature they were absolutely fine to walk on. I wanted to get a good angle so I ended up laying on the floor to take a photo – it’s actually something I’d recommend.
As you walk through the gallery you get a sense for the huge body of work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser and see how it translates through art and architecture – turning James from a sceptic into a fan.
There’s so many angles and different things to see that it’s definitely worth a visit.
No. 8 Restaurant
Packed with art galleries, Hundertwasser Art Centre, gift shops, parks and restaurants the Whangarei town basin is somewhere you can easily spend a leisurely afternoon wandering around here.
Before going to Hundertwasser Art Centre we found No. 8 restaurant in the basin. Transporting me back to Singapore with the decks adorned with paper lanterns I was an instant fan.
Upon finding the express lunch menu for just $56 for two of us with what James declared the best prawns ever we were even more in love.
And then finding a chandeliers of paper lanterns in an open ceiling – well I have no words.
Whangarei – I can’t wait to see what you have for me next time!