In the past the Friends of Te Papa have organized two kinds of tours. We have offered one day tours to galleries like Pataka in Porirua and the Dowse in Lower Hutt, and multi-day tours such as those to the Bay of Islands, Gisborne and Whanganui.

The prosecution of travel operators after the tragedy at Whakaari White Island has prompted the Friends Executive Committee to examine in detail health and safety for tours, and given us pause for thought. The Friends are not a professional travel operator but have the same obligations and liabilities as any travel operator in organising its tours. The committee has decided therefore that it will henceforth engage commercial operators to run its multi-day tours.

Consequently, from October 2022 multi-day tours for Friends of Te Papa will be subject to the terms and conditions of the selected tour operator.

Past tours for members run by Hamish Campbell to Kaikoura and Golden Bay have been organized this way, and have proven to be very successful. As with these recent examples, your committee will have input to the itinerary and will ensure that we select reputable tour operators to partner with.

Feature Image: from Hamish Campbell’s Golden Bay tour 2021.