Maze and optical illusions at Puzzling World, Wanaka

Our opinion: squeeze it in your Wanaka schedule if you can. We rushed it, but it’s also a good place to spend time, have coffee and muffins and… solve puzzles :).
Tip: discounts can be found. In our case there was a 10% discount with the free NZ guidebook “Arrival”. The combo ticket was NZ$18 instead of 20.

That was unexpected: a theme park dedicated to puzzles, optical illusions, and a giant maze, in the outdoor sports Mecca that is Wanaka. You can’t miss it when arriving in Wanaka: colorful crooked buildings, and big signs.

They have two separate activities: a Giant Maze and Illusions rooms, but the best deal is to go with the combo.

At the entrance, you find a café that serves fairly priced drinks and cakes. And, big tables COVERED with all kinds of puzzles and brainteasers. You can actually go there and play for free !! We spent one hour solving puzzles (or not) before realizing that we had to start the visit before they closed…

The rooms are quite interesting and interactive — we had more fun than in Chiang Mai’s “Art in Paradise” museum which also focuses on illusions. See pics and video!!

The maze is indeed big, and it’s not just about finding the way out: you have to choose between 2 “challenges”, one more difficult of course.
There are bridges that go over the maze and make finding your way even more complicated. We spent 45 mm in the maze without even resting, but the challenge we had chose was the more difficult: the sign said “1 to 1,5 hours”!! 🙂

Oh, and the toilets are worth checking out!!

Here is the link to their website: http://www.puzzlingworld.co.nz