Merry Christmas to everyone
SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and Her staff at Tongariro River Motel wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
2016 in review…
TRM thank you for your generous support and kind encouragement during 2016.
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.
In 2015 we reported the fishing conditions had improved at long last?. Sorry, it was a false start. We lied – not intentionally.
We were wrong. River fishing results in 2016 were not as good.
For TRM it continues to be a memorable year for the signs war with the Council.
Several inmates have asked for progress reports so we will try to bring you up to date. The whole drawn out drama has taken over a year and we have still not made any meaningful progress…
The Taupo Council have just phoned us again on 22 December requesting TRM’s policy on the timing of any lighting on the signs – when we turn them off and on? I advised it depends on global warming and daylight saving hours…
Also they are now requesting we have to remove the writing – [see above – TURN RIGHT INTO TOWN CENTRE] on the sign. Apparently they now claim that NZTA (New Zealand Transport Authority) object to the directional writing on the sign.
I reminded them, again, this is supposed to be a tourist town where there is no other signage advising them where the river is. As Turangi’s exciting new image is now being based around the Tongariro River we suggested we have to provide the directional signage where Council have failed tourists.
Note that this was the original reason for the sign – to welcome tourists to Turangi – Trout fishing capital of the world – as back a few years there were no signs embracing the Tongariro River.
The other reason I continued to behave like an obviously difficult obnoxious ratepayer is that in the last month two other new signs (with Chinese writing) on left have been erected by another tourist accommodation operator which have writing all over them. But they are apparently OK. ?
As are the other motel signs erected on the SH1 road reserve while TRM’s offending corner sign is entirely on private property.
So naturally we object to being singled out for such ludicrous special treatment. TRM legal team (led by Pumpkin) now look forward to the Court case?
When Council make all the others remove their signs then we will be happy to follow their directions. That seems reasonable enough.
Above is the original x-council sign that they removed to ‘refresh’. So it must be just our new sign they object to? We still have not been granted a retrospective resource consent after a year and are still being threatened with their $300 fine for replacing their original sign in 2015.
Their pathetic justification for fining TRM – the sign had much the same words as the previous old sign that Council removed – was that the new sign was larger! The Council removed the old sign under the pretext that they would refresh it with the new council logo but then failed to deliver. When the new sign went up they fined us the very next day. Sometimes they are so efficient.
Now over a year later…
In cute little tourist towns we need a signage war with Council to keep us peasants amused. But in this signage case the Council’s bureaucratic arrogance is something else – way too far over the top.
Last year at this time we announced the “biggie” for 2015 – being the decision from the Taupo Council’s promotional team, DGLT “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. Wonderful news.
Again, one year later, we are still patiently waiting…
When this T2T (Taupo to Turangi) bike trail is completed following SH1 around our beautiful natural treasure, Lake Taupo, the outcome is a no-brainer. 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.
Last, Tongariro anglers are still anxiously waiting for DOC’s October issue of Target Taupo. Last year their October 2015 issue was published about six months later so perhaps we are being too optimistic.
TRM also wish to send Seasons Greetings to those anglers who have not made it back to TRM and the Tongariro in 2016. They have been dearly missed. Many have been visiting here regularly for so many seasons and deserve acknowledgement for their long service to the delights of the Tongariro.
Now – until 2017 – regular Daily Report readers will also be relieved they have earned a well deserved holiday and rest from being obliged to endure the daily TRM report ramblings although some more inmate interviews should keep you entertained in the meantime. Normal service will resume again if/when the scribe has recovered from Christmas sometime soon in 2017.
Thank you all for being so wonderful.
All the best for a safe and happy 2017.
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…
(But Taupo Council know where I would like to stick it…..)