Yesterday TRM announced a competition for readers – to provide inspiration for suitable “catchy” wording to put on the replacement “temporary” sign – to warn of the danger from invasive species of pest diseases and to remind anglers of the CCD message.(Check, Clean, Dry)

Immediately inmates were asking again about the TRM signs saga and what happened to the directional signage that Toe-paw Council objected to and removed.

(TURN LEFT TO TONGARIRO RIVER  –  TURN RIGHT INTO TOWN CENTRE) 

TRM inmates have good memories.  Anything to do with road signs around TRM somehow generates a lot of attention!.  So they must be doing their job.

Toe-paw Council could not possibly permit such inflammatory rude and objectionable wording.  No wonder tourists were shocked.  That just shows the power of the press – after six months people still remember.  Everyone was amazed at Council’s aggressive attitude and sympathetic to TRM.  Full story below…

After being fined $750 – which TRM objected to – NZRafting had to pay about $1500 to Council for a “retrospective” (?) resource consent for TRM to comply.

TRM had refused to pay on principle.  Folk in small villages like Turangi still have principles.  After being located here for over 50 years TRM claimed existing user rights!

Toe-paw Council disagreed so the “TURN LEFT, TURN RIGHT” directional signage was removed by them .

Instead, TRM replaced it with the “Home of the Woolly Bugger” instead.  Then this generated more curiosity from tourists who were unfamiliar with the peculiar names of trout flies.  Some even thought the signage was referring to SWMBO as the Woolly Bugger as it couldn’t have been me – I do not have enough hair.

But out of it all TRM came out with so much NZ wide publicity…  we could not have planned it better.

Below is the Taupo Times front page in March.

There is no way TRM could afford prominent front page commercial exposure.

Other papers also reported it too.

So thank you once again to Toe-paw Council Compliance Department for creating all the promotion.

They cleverly managed to turn a minor signage issue into huge publicity with such a positive result for us.

TRM cannot afford a promotion budget at all but relies on the Daily Blog you are devouring to persuade prospective inmates to stay.  Strangely, it seems to work too, and they keep on returning.

Above are some “Woolly Bugger” flies tied by a local master craftsman (Didymo Dave – image below on right in his work uniform).

Dave left the flies at TRM for us to donate to inmates seen using the CCD bottles to wash their gear after changing rivers.  Smart thinking…

The first inmate – Barry Stuck from Hamilton – seen scrubbing his gear – gratefully received and offered to test Dave’s flies.  Absolutely first cast in Major Jones Pool produced a stunning 5 pound Rainbow.  You cannot find better evidence than that.

As he was wearing a TRM lucky hat as well, the trout didn’t stand a chance.

That is Barry on left in the photo below recovering with a strong cup of tea and telling more lies after fishing.