The giant Santa which used to appear yearly on Auckland’s Queen Street has been relocated to Wanaka.
The five-tonne, 18m-tall Christmas decoration, spent 60 years encouraging Aucklanders to shop.
However, over the weekend it travelled down the length of the country and arrived safely at Wanaka’s National Transport and Toy Museum.
The huge Santa has the ability to wink and move its fingers. This led to claims it was creepy, especially for younger children.
The Santa was purchased for $1 by the Museum. However, it costs about $200,000 a year to maintain, run and store.
Sadly, Santa won’t be on display in Wanaka this Christmas. It will be assessed after Christmas and fibreglass repairs would be done over the summer.
