Incredible Hulks Tour - Walking on the Bones

If you love history and shipwrecks, you'll love this.

Meeting at the Maritime Museum in Port Chalmers, you'll be driven by minibus to the location of....The Incredible Hulks:

Torpedo boat base. One of the few remaining visible examples of harbour walls built by Māori prisoners, the base supported a fast boat (for its day) armed with a spar torpedo. This was basically a long piece of wood with a bomb at the end. During the big defence exercise at Oamaru in the 1880s, the Port Chalmers torpedo boat got close enough to the "enemy" flagship to have rammed it, then took the rest of the day off. They weren't expected to survive in real life.

Jump back in the van and then head to:

The Don Juan. The most visible and mysterious of the harbour hulks, this ship was arrested by the Harbourmaster trying to leave port in an unsafe condition and has been here ever since. Claims of manacles found in the holds and signs of cannon being mounted led to rumours of a slaving past.

The Floating Dock. Before the Port Chalmers dry dock was built, this structure would raise a ship for repairs by securing it inside them pumping out its water tanks and rising above the water.

The Prince Alfred. Named after one of Victoria's sons, this was a paddle steamer on the coastal runs. Old photos show it where it is now, with a definite lean to one side. It is still leaning.

The Moa. This was claimed at the time to be the first ship built in Northland. The grain of its pohutukawa ribs and the last of its copper cladding can be seen.

Please note: an extra pair of shoes, and something to put muddy footwear in, are essential.

Meet at Port Chalmers Maritime Museum, followed by a drive in our minibus to the Hulkheads.

Tickets: $57 + booking fee