SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and Her staff at Tongariro River Motel wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

2015 in review…

TRM thank you for your generous support and kind encouragement during 2015.

The main relief in 2015 has been the recovery of the winter spawning runs in terms of trout condition, size and numbers.  A wonderful season.

The fly fishing results from the Tongariro River have made it a memorable year for TRM inmates.

Long overdue and just wonderful.

During the last ten years TRM anglers have been very loyal and patient waiting and hoping for the Taupo fishing to recover to pre-2004 levels.

At last we can confidently confirm it has.

It really was an excellent season although all TRM have to show for it is a pumice boundary fence…

For TRM it was the year of the pumice fence.  It took several months to collect enough pumice and several more months to complete.  I am sure it deserves a Landscaping Award but there is not one for boundary fences – yet.  The new pumice wall has now been topped off with new TRM signage – see below – to promote  Turangi and the Tongariro River, but already the Kremlin has complained threatening ‘infringement’ noises.  (Watch this space…)  So all up it was like giving SWMBO a big facelift.

For Turangi, timed perfectly to celebrate 50 years since Turangi was founded, the ‘biggie’ was the decision from the Taupo Council’s promotional team – “Destination Great Lake Taupo” – to arrange an extensive feasibility study for a new bike trail to link the Tongariro River Trail with the existing trail at 5 Mile Bay to Taupo.  A brilliant decision.

When this T2T (Taupo to Turangi) bike trail is completed following SH1 around our beautiful natural treasure, Lake Taupo, it will soon develop into the most popular bike trail in NZ.  That will do more for tourism and economic growth in Turangi than any other achievement in the last fifty years.

(Sadly, 2015 is more likely to be remembered for the unfortunate decision to develop a trout farm at the trout centre.  Even six months later  the most common complaint from anglers is they are still dismayed at the duplicity and deafening silence from Taupo Fishery Management.)

Now – until 2016 – regular TRM inmates will also be relieved they have earned a well deserved holiday and rest from being obliged to endure the daily TRM report ramblings.

Normal service will resume again if/when the scribe has recovered from Christmas sometime soon in 2016.

Thank you all for being such wonderful guests. 

All the best for a safe and happy 2016.

The Bridge For Santa

A Christmas Story

When four of Santa’s elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the pre-Christmas pressure.

Then Mrs. Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out,  Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum.

When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drunk all the cider and hidden the liquor. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor.

He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and an irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.

The angel said very cheerfully, ‘Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn’t this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?’

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.

Not a lot of people know this…