School Holidays READING LIST:
SWMBO just read a promotional blurb on the best 28 reasons to visit California and She compared them to what this central volcanic plateau region has to offer… These confirm again that Turangi is one of the most beautiful places to visit in NZ. With its diverse landscapes, stunning mountains and rivers and lakes, it is no wonder that Turangi is such a popular holiday destination for local Kiwis and overseas tourists alike. Last year Sweden challenged the rest of the world with 20 reasons to visit Sweden so now we extend our list.
Some will be disappointed that tourist activities, like river rafting and horse riding, are not mentioned. That is deliberate as tourists can do that anywhere. These activities are all unique. That is what makes Turangi so special on any tour itinerary. Warning – you may not have heard or read of many of these as they are special and only available in Turangi.
So…here are 29 absolutely irresistible reasons to visit Tongariro River Motel in Turangi:
1 Tongariro River offers the best wild fishery in NZ – open all year for wild Rainbow and Brown Trout – a world-famous fishery that has attracted anglers for over one hundred years.
2 Tongariro River has the most beautiful river loop walk or bike trail in NZ with a choice of tracks and distances and views over famous 100-year-old historic trout fishing pools and swingbridges and native bird chorus on a well-drained all-weather pumice trail with wide views over farmland and forest and everything else that all the other trails would love to have.
3 Kaimanawa National Park is the most under-rated natural uncrowded scenic park with DOC camping grounds and two linking tracks – the Urchin Track and Umukarikari Track to lead you to the best views over Lake Taupo. Tread quietly along the tops and you will probably see some wild deer.
4 Turangi has a diverse range of holiday accommodations with a full range of fully equipped self-contained motel style to cheap grungy motels (true!) to backpackers to Airbnb bed & breakfast to camping grounds, something for everyone. Tongariro River Motel is arguably the best value with the most friendly hosts… but you knew that.
5 Easy access to the most popular one day tramp in NZ – the 19 km Tongariro Alpine Crossing – over the Tongariro volcanic alpine saddle. Aim for a fine warm weekday when it is not so crowded. One requirement is that you must bring good weather. Alternatively there are other shorter trail options for when the weather turns dirty and restricts any alpine walks.
6 Turangi is famous as a base camp for many other bush walks that are not promoted as locals and hunters want to keep them secret. They do not have any DOC signs at all. – i.e. ask about Mt. Tihia.
7 The loop drive to view the Wanganui River and Whakapapa Rivers with historic deserted timber towns like Kakahi (make sure you visit Manu Lala’s general store – it is more like Alladin’s Cave!) to follow the old railway line to the river and coffee at Owhango or at the National Park Railway Station and Whakapapa village is a great day out.
8 A gondola trip in the Sky Waka up the highest mountain in the North Island to the highest cafe in NZ with views over the ski fields and mountain peaks and desolate landscape where most of the sweeping dramatic landscapes and battles were filmed for LOTR (Lord of the Rings) is a compulsory trip.
9 A ten minute gentle walk to the Tawhai Falls to identify the same stone where Gollam chewed on his fresh-caught raw trout under the waterfall is a must for all LOTR fans. Ask any kids – they will tell you all about it.
10 A two hour gentle level walk around a hidden lake where the mature native trees have never been harvested – it is still the same as when Captain Cook visited although he missed this lake. It was voted by NZ Herald readers as the best unspoiled native bush walk in NZ.
11 A scenic two-hour loop through native bush to emerge at the base of a spectacular waterfall where you can walk under the waterfall and return on an alpine trail with wide views over the mountains is a sensible alternative option for when the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is closed due to weather.
12 The famous pie shop is located in the Turangi mall and opens early for anglers and tourists to get their coffee fix and lunch before they take off for the day.
13 SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) is an institution at Tongariro River Motel where She is usually found hiding in Her garden and talking to the plants. Do not ask Her for directions for any of the above attractions as She misdirects everyone to the pie shop. TRM’s savage guard dog can guide you instead – see 14…
14 TRM (Tongariro River Motel) is the only motel in NZ with a specially trained ‘Huntaway’ guide dog, Juno, to guard tourists from wild Moas on any of the walks around the Tongariro River. She is super friendly and loves children and can be taken for walkies up and down all the river trails.
15 The Blue Ducks are claimed to be an ‘endangered’ species. Birders (tourists who enjoy studying birds) come from everywhere as it is the only river environment where they can view Whio from the river walks. If you cannot find any, take TRM’s dog, Juno, and she will easily identify where they hide.
16 The closest sandy beach for safe swimming and lazing and picnics is adjacent to the yacht club about 5 km on the scenic shore of Lake Taupo. A short walk then leads to the mouth of a local stream where anglers will usually be stationed casting their dainty flies at trout who ignore them.
17 Natural hot pools are located nearby at Tokaanu where a short loop walk will take you past boiling mud pools. Tourists are fascinated at the holes in the ground emitting steam – where local Maoris cook their dinner while they are enjoying a soak in the mineral water.
18 One of the oldest wharves in NZ is located at Tokaanu with a huge history as this was once on the main route from Wellington to Auckland up the Wanganui River then across Lake Taupo by steamer. The old hotel at Tokaanu was once on the main route but is now closed as the main road SH1 is through Turangi.
19 The Trout Centre has a wonderful display of the history of trout fishing with the most popular attraction in the kids’ pool where kids can learn to cast a fly to catch a trout and smoke it and eat it… This is a ‘must visit’ for all school-aged kids to experience the fun and challenge of fly fishing.
20 Drive around Lake Rotoaira – a privately owned Maori lake with a separate fishing licence to the rest of the region as there are so many trout waiting for anglers. Good parking and views are available from a spot where they claim the All Blacks haka was born.
21 The Te Porere Redoubt is a must for history buffs where a British castle-style defensive redoubt was built out of pumice and still survives. It was erected to entice the British troops to fight in their last NZ battle. The score was 4 British colonial invaders deaths, 4 injured, with 37 Maori deaths – they were recorded as they were buried in the redoubt with an unknown number injured who escaped, so modern history records the Maoris must have won.
22 Visit the small residential settlement of Pukawa where the first Anglican church introduced Christianity to the natives. They have never recovered… There is a delightful bush walk through a symphony of native birds to link with another small settlement of Omori. Keep a look out for the weta hotel!
23 For a challenging walk combined with peaceful seclusion in a bleak alpine landscape, treat yourself to a vigorous walk in the volcanic National Parks nearby. The Tama lakes walk is a good target from Whakapapa village. Another often overlooked day tramp imagined to be too hard is to the summit of Mt. Ruapehu. If you can manage the Tongariro Crossing then it is doable but restricted to mid-summer weather conditions.
24 Night life. There isn’t any! To most civilised anglers, that is a definite BIG plus. At the end of the day tourists are too whacked out anyway and enjoy their best night’s sleep for yonks. That may have something to do with the altitude too. Without any creepy seedy nightlife activity, there are no drive-by shootings or ram-raids either. No pollution, no traffic congestion, no noise (apart from Bellbirds waking us up in the morning), just beautiful peaceful nothing. Turangi is so boring, just the way we like it.
25 Most other tourist towns have some sort of bike trail but they are nearly always ’there-&-back’ trails with transport issues. Comparatively, the Tongariro River Trail (in the photo above it looks more like the kennel club) provides for every option being a figure-8 with distances from 3 km to 13 km following the river to provide easy peasy biking in such a beautiful natural environment.
26 For one of the best dining out experiences in NZ there is a cute restaurant down a country lane that specialises in shared menus. When we go to the ‘Hare & Copper’ we just ask the chef to prepare a shared meal for four or six people and let him decide on what we would like. Make sure you book well ahead.
28 We almost missed the main reason tourists have visited and stayed in Turangi for over 100 years. Trout fishing! The mighty Tongariro River is world-famous but there are many other smaller rivers and streams and lakes nearby. Many books have been written about the fishing opportunities (see the most famous – No.29!). Everywhere you travel in Turangi are reminders with fishy signs, garden sculptures, footpath etchings, wind vanes, to even the oldest tackle shop in NZ.
29 We saved the best for last. The most memorable one-day 40-50km (flexible route of your choice) 4-5 hours bike trail in NZ that I bet you have never heard about. It is so special it is kept secret and exclusive for lucky TRM inmates only. The bike ride is so spectacular in so many ways. The contour is about 90% downhill gradients dropping about 600m overall. That gives a clue that the start is somewhere up in the Kaimanawas and finishes at TRM. It involves DOC trails with a couple of shallow stream crossings, scenic forestry roads, trespassing on private trails (Shhh), crossing a Tongariro hydro dam, bush tracks, side trips to other scenic viewing spots, a special speed section along a canal, with wonderful varying scenery. But long after you have forgotten the ride we promise you will always remember the lunch stop in an absolutely unique venue!
29 (B) Not to be missed – Tongariro River Motel has the only bookshop in NZ – at the reception where you can buy a copy of a famous book published by the motel and now in its fifth print run. ‘Tongariro Skulduggery’ is the only story about everything in Turangi with such an intriguing plot about the discovery of a pre-Maori skull which was used to pull the biggest bluff – con trick – to encourage the government to donate $millions, all to be invested in Turangi’s tourist facilities – in NZ’s history. All profits go into the conservation of the Tongariro River environment. If you book in for three nights you should just have enough time to read it for free as there is a copy in every unit.
