I’ve lived in Wanaka for more than 20 years and during that time visited Puzzling World a handful of times. So I thought it would be nice to visit it once more, but through the eyes of a first-timer.

Vicki walked through the doors at Puzzling World and immediately said: “I wasn’t expecting this”, as she gazed around the spacious reception-cafe-gift shop area and took in the dominating view of Mt Iron.

“It’s bigger and roomier. I don’t know what I imagined, but I hadn’t expected a cafe and view out the window,” she said. 

We were greeted by Puzzling World’s operations and marketing manager Duncan Spear who gave us an entertaining, potted history of Puzzling World from its inception as a wooden, modular maze in 1973 to the news that he was working on plans to “build up” into a second storey.

Puzzling World’s cafe is popular with travellers and Mt Iron walkers.

Vicki was intrigued by the robust wooden puzzles left on the cafe tables for visitors looking for a challenge with their coffee.

Duncan said the New Zealand made puzzles have been an element of their operation almost from the beginning and appeal to all ages. “We love to hear from parents who are amazed their teenagers actually engage with them playing puzzles at the tables rather than just being on their screens.”

“People can spend three, four, five hours here if they want to but we generally say 90 minutes is enough to do the maze and visit the illusion rooms.”

From one side these look like normal sculptured pillars; from the other shadow people appear.

With time pressing, Vicki decided to skip the maze and go straight to the illusions. We could hear excited children’s voices discovering one of Puzzling World’s most popular attractions, the tilted house, where objects seem to defy the laws of gravity and children can become giants across the room from their comparatively tiny parents.

It’s remarkable how much of our world is navigated visually and how easily our brains can be deceived, or suddenly enlightened, by what we see. In some illusions its fixed eyes following our movement; or elephants with five legs; billiard balls rolling uphill; revolving objects which seem unattached to anything; or innocuous pillars which suddenly appear as people’s faces.

“It makes you think ‘what the hell have I really seen’? Why are my eyes working like this? Do I need to go see the optician?” Vicki joked.

A visit to the toilets - even just for fun - is worth a smile.

It’s the sort of place where even world-weary adults can stare in wonder or catch themselves smiling broadly at the weird and wonderful. 

Vicki said she was pleasantly surprised to discover Puzzling World was more than she had expected.

“With the name Puzzling World you might think it’s just for kids. We’ve been here for a good half hour already and there’s more I want to see,” she said. “I haven’t even looked in the shop yet.” 

Despite its lengthy history, Puzzling World has moved with the times. As well as creating the world’s first three dimensional maze, it has also added a variety of new attractions from weirdly leaning buildings to a deceptively clever sculpture room and a laugh-out-loud Roman toilet. 

And information regarding the illusions and displays is available via multi-language QR Codes on its walls, deciphered by the Puzzling World App.

Duncan said Puzzling World had survived the pandemic restrictions and loss of international visitors so far and he was lucky that natural attrition had occurred rather than having to make “the hard calls” on downsizing the workforce.

While it may not be business as usual with busloads of visitors filling the adjacent car park, all areas of Puzzling World are open from 9:00am to 4:30pm daily.

“There’s something here for everyone, adults and children,” Vicki said.

PHOTOS: Wanaka App