More holiday reading… Thank you for the renewed interest in TRM’s proposal. The old photos illustrate some of the changes. SWMBO is often asked about the corner signs changes as they have had a chequered history. The first photo below is the corner of SH1 in 2005 when the latest upgrade started with new stone entrance walls and signage. The more impressive entrance was designed 16 years ago to provide access to a future cafe proposed on the corner… Even scheme plans were prepared. What dreamers!

It was obviously confusing with so many signs. Perhaps the most interesting is the big photo promoting “Holiday & Income – 11 managed units for sale”! The original intention was to develop the spare vacant land, over half an acre (2000m2), by selling off the existing units and develop more upmarket units. The response was encouraging – seven interested buyers were signed up. Eventually, it took over two years for Council to approve the subdivision scheme, by which time only two prospective buyers were still patiently hanging in there. They still own units no 4 & 6. Then the property and financial markets crashed and over the years since several other amended schemes were considered to try to utilise all the land area – 4760 m2. Then when the local residential property market recovered enough to make further development viable, covid arrived… More delays. Now after eighteen years since that first promotion a much better scheme has been hatched. It has been worth the wait. More info will follow – watch this space.

The next photos illustrate the changes including the stone entrance wall, new signs, and new pumice wall along SH1 continuing around Piri Road to Taupahi Road entrances.

The first sign erected on the stone wall corner in 2006 was our own artistic (?) design – to increase awareness of the threat of Didymo.

In 2010 that was replaced by the “Welcome to Turangi – The Trout Fishing Capital of the World” sign, after Toe-Paw Council dismantled it from each main road entrance to Turangi. Their reasoning was they had to update the logo… but the real reason was to rebrand Turangi as the “Source of the Lake”.

Link Road was changed to Piri Road in 2013.

The Piri Road frontage fence was converted from a wire mesh enclosing a hedge to a mock pumice wall. The decision to use pumice was made easier when someone tried to burn down the brushwood fence. Locally sourced pumice, collected from the shore of Lake Taupo, is obviously more fireproof and provides a more solid permanent street appearance. It is still surprising how many refer to the location as “the motel with the pumice fence”.

This was continued around the corner to Taupahi Road.

The gap in the wall, now filled temporarily for the last ten years with the CCD sign, was there for a purpose – to provide separate walking access next to the main driveway.

Directional signage was added – “Turn left & turn right” – to assist tourists so Toe-Paw Council fined us – again. Then they charged us $1,500 for not having consent. TRM has had signs on the main road since the 1950’s when Taupahi Road was the main north-south road, so we claimed existing user rights…

The Toe-Paw Council claimed that NZTA had objected that the wording at the base of the sign could be mistaken for one of their signs! We asked for proof from NZTA but never received any letter of complaint. Have you ever seen a road sign from NZTA featuring a raft and a huge trout? In other words, they lied…

It is still bewildering why they picked on TRM when there are many signs throughout Turangi that do not have resource consent.

Now, just as Toe-paw Council were planning to rebrand and promote Turangi as “The Gateway to the National Park”, the management company (RAL) operating the Whakapapa and Ohakune skifields went into receivership, so now anything might happen. Locals have speculated that Iwi might reclaim it?

Finally, in 2022 the sign was updated with the council’s “Love Taupo” logo.

What would you like to see as a suitable tourist brand/logo/image for Turangi?

ps TRM have been criticised, again, for referring to “Taupo” Council as “Toe-Paw”? Below is the Council’s own publicity brochure. They started it… OK?