Start planning for the summer holidays with fifty reasons to visit Turangi.
Yesterday TRM posted the first ten. Today are 10 more compelling reasons to stay in Turangi.
This is an update of the original TRM blog from June 2018. Many of NZ’s 250 hotels (with rooms of 50 or more) are now closed or used for emergency housing… Don’t start me on that! So many of those remaining open do so with skeleton staff (I would hardly call SWMBO a skeleton?) to help stranded tourists, guests in self-isolation, essential service workers, etc. TRM could have been in that category but Turangi continued to attract tourists almost regardless of the covid lockdowns and Australian bubbles restricting international travel.
So how can tourism be revived? Turangi tourist features desperately need to be promoted with a consistent catchy theme slogan (like Trout Fishing Capital of the World?). In the time we have been here the billboard welcoming tourists into town has changed three times – from “Trout Fishing Capital of the World” (what a great brand!) to “Source of the Lake” to “Gateway to the National Park”. These latter two were dreamed up by a council agenda or their consultant’s misleading advice that obviously did not consider what else Turangi has to offer. With the collapse of RAL, who managed the ski-fields, it looks like Toe-paw might need to urgently review their strategy, so we thought you might like to help them…
Now, at long last, the tourist attractions of Turangi are being recognised again – i.e. see the new logo below:
So the following continues the 2018 report updated to the post Covid climate.
SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed manages everything at TRM) suggested TRM inmates submit their basic reasons. (This was after She read a list of 50 reasons to visit Sweden. So She applied it to Turangi.) To try to be fair to other struggling wannabe tourist towns, She stopped it at around 50… There are so many interesting holiday activities providing 100% pure enjoyment that we have to limit you to 10 reasons per day for the next five days to control your blood pressure excitement levels and avoid stress overload and boredom burnout.
Yesterday TRM listed the first 10 of 50 (yes that is fifty!) reasons tourists should visit Turangi and return again and again. The first ten reasons are always the easiest… Today we continue with the next 10 – 20 in no particular order…
11 – Cultural Retail Therapy – In the last report there was a very special shop just past Sporting Life tackle shop dedicated to weaving ancient Maori patterned arts and crafts with a team of devoted Maori weavers, but they have moved premises so to find them you might need to check with the iSite. A range of bags and shawls were for sale. They are genuine cultural treasures. Even Rotorua cannot compete with the traditional skills available in Turangi. It is encouraging to see the ancient cultural skills being preserved and passed on down the generations.
For those who cannot imagine that cultural experiences in Turangi could add any special value? – On Monday at a business meeting in the local Tuwharetoa FM radio station, the staff started off the proceedings with a sing-song! A powhiri or waiata ā-ringa. (I hope that is what it was?) What a hoot! Wonderful stuff. Everyone was buzzing. Where else in NZ would business meetings start with a warm fuzzies performance like that?
The other photo below illustrates the purpose of the meeting for the Lake Rotoaira Forest Trust updating their intention to lead the tourist revival of Turangi with Tongariro River rafting and raft fishing and wilderness bike rides and shuttle bus services to the Kaimanawa National Park as a genuine cultural experience, etc.
But in case you do not find out where to locate a cultural experience (?), TRM inmates replace it with their style of retail therapy in tackle shops. Turangi has two fishing tackle shops, each with their own special charm. First is the oldest tackle shop in NZ on Taupahi Road – Creel with dedicated new owners – Jason and Tracy Bethune – since our last report. Second is Sporting Life, also under new ownership. Both shops promote trout fishing on social media with regular blogs. Also Tim does his popular daily video chat from the river bank at various town pools on the Tongariro River. Extraordinary selection and plenty of choices for a little tourist town – better than any other town in NZ.
12 – Skiing – New Zealand’s largest ski field was totally redeveloped with a new gondola – sky waka – photo above – now operating. Sadly, the last 2022 winter season was a dicky one (due to Global Warming and Covid hangovers?) ending with the collapse of RAL – the management company. But it does not have to be snowing as they can make the snow for you and family to enjoy the new kids “Happy Valley” facilities with more learner ski runs and adjacent facilities, cafes, etc. than any other in the South Island. The gondolas improve access to the upper slopes up to the Knoll Ridge cafe – 2020m elevation – even on windy days when the ski fields used to be closed off. An enjoyable refreshing and memorable affordable relaxing family day out just a 40 minute drive from Turangi for photo images that last a lifetime.
13 – Cafes & Restaurants – Turangi has at least eight cafes at last count varying from the historical converted fishing tackle shop at Creel (photo on right) to the Coffee Container on SH1 to several others all welcoming and waiting for you. All the competition between cafes makes sure you will get good value wherever you dine. We must also comment on the latest restaurant in town since we composed the 2018 reports. TRM inmates have been raving about the best dining out in the region at Hare & Copper Restaurant – located on Grace Road just out of town. Meanwhile, others (i.e. Lakeland House at Tokaanu) closed due to staff problems etc. during covid. Or the Hare & Copper may have proven to be too much competition?
14 – Beaches – Fine pumice beach on the edge of Lake Taupo, no tides, safe swimming, boating (easy to launch trailers) off the beach or in river mouths nearby; what more could you ask for? Yes, I know. OK – you can also watch and fish for huge savage wild trout chasing smelt into the shallow edges where they are so easy to cast to (except when I go there). The fresh clear lake water sourced from snow melt in Tongariro National Park and filtered through native bush and pumice via tributaries in the Kaimanawa National Park is almost becoming a rare commodity elsewhere.
How can tourists put a $$$ value on that?
15 – Pies – World famous pies from Turangi Bakery. Ask any fisho or tramper or truck driver – they know! The pies are so nutritious they will keep you going for the rest of the day. The pie shop opens at sparrow’s fart and has such a huge range they are known throughout the land. SWMBO prefers plain mince but the locals claim potato tops as favourites.
16 – Bike Trails – The Tongariro River Trail ticks all the boxes for a friendly tourist bike trail around the Tongariro River in a figure eight configuration over two swing bridges to provide a choice of 3 km loop with views over Lake Taupo to a 10 km loop up the river or combined at 13 km.
For biking nuts, a longer challenging 40 to 50 km mountain bike trail (the length depends on the route chosen) takes 3 -4 hours from Tree Trunk Gorge – route notes only available at TRM feature a very special unique place for the halfway drink stop. TRM cannot mention the route notes on social media as the trail is restricted to a chosen few aka TRM inmates! Long after you have forgotten the ride, we promise you will remember the drink stop! Then there are more remote bike trails like the Timber Trail – 84 km over two days with a wonderful lodge for an overnight retreat. Or for a day trip it is hard to beat Waihaha Trail about 50 km from Turangi up SH32 on the western shores of Lake Taupo to include a remote beach trip as well as the view over Tieke Falls.
17 – Wild Blackberries – One of the best places in NZ to stroll along riverside trails and collect wild organically grown blackberries in season – the bucket will not be big enough so you may have to eat the overflow. Who would imagine wild blackberries would feature but tourists rave about them.
18 – Forests – Endless towering gigantic forests vary from natural forests with the full range of native species such as Rimu, Totara, Kahikatea and many others that SWMBO cannot identify. Turangi also has its own Redwood Park on the Tongariro River Trail. Some of these more remote trails are on hunters favourite spots so wear appropriate bright clothing. If the tramping tracks into the Kaimanawas – Urchins Track or Umukarikari Track – were in the South Island they would be one of the “Great Walks”. But in the central plateau region with three National Parks, they are just another track…
19 – Sculpture – Lookout where ever you go for fishy-themed sculptures from main road giant anglers to garage roof anglers to fancy finials to the fishy footpath, fishy letterboxes to giant flies to many more unique to Turangi – too numerous to list. The favourite sculpture for the Ladies Fishing Tournament is a gate with a huge wrought iron trout. You will have to ask the lovely ladies from Taupo Fishing Club for their “trout-gate photo” as they would not allow TRM to post it… (copyright and other reasons?)
20 – Lakes – Such a wide variety of beautiful mainly uninhabited bush-lined natural volcanic lakes, from the largest lake in NZ – Lake Taupo – to the tiny hidden lake – Lake Rotopounamu (Greenstone Lake) to Lake Kuratau or to privately owned lakes (Lake Rotoaira – see image above) to trophy trout alpine lake – Lake Otamangakau. These may look over-full at maximum levels but that may also be because of displacement pressures caused by zillions of large trophy trout that inhabit these lakes waiting for anglers.
Lake O. is a man-made lake, or more of a large alpine puddle created at the exposed head-water swamp of the W(h?)anganui River as a hydro storage dam. This shallow lake has now developed into our trophy fishery. A magic place on a good day, not so friendly on a cold windy day.
In Tongariro National Park there are more – Tama Lakes are the main feature on the day trip from Whakapapa Village to the Waihohonu Hut off the Desert Road. There is even a summit lake on the top of Mt. Ruapehu. All scenic beauties with their own charm – they are so good that each could qualify as a tourist destination.
So that brings up 20 reasons to visit and stay in Turangi, but there are still 30 more compelling reasons that other tourist regions cannot compete with – watch this space tomorrow…