tongariro–motel.directrooms.com/
OTA’s = Online Travel Agents… Their images are supposed to be of Tongariro River Motel? I’ll bet you have never seen TRM looking like this?
This is to explain again why we have to go on and on about them and why you should not rely on them… Even though they are our photos that have been used, TRM is not featured. If they cannot get the correct basic info would you trust them with all your confidential cc details. ??
SWMBO blames DOC of course. That is their Waihohonu Hut featuring as Tongariro River Motel?…
The following is the sort of nonsense you can expect when you troll the internet looking for the best deal… we have no idea who this OTA is, apart from the fact they have obviously pinched the info with no understanding of what TRM is, but no doubt will get a commission for on-selling your enquiry to booking-dot-com or a similar OTA.
They have no idea of what they are even describing.
This one describes Tongariro River Motel as a two star hotel (?) with but then goes on to say:
Tongariro River Motel 8.8 stars Very Good
“Overview
The Tongariro River Motel enjoys a prime position right in the centre of the town. Lake Rotopounamu is within a 10-minute drive away, and the property offers free parking.
Guests of the Tongariro River Motel can enjoy a range of services, including free bike rental.
Facilities at the motel include laundry facilities, a playground and free Wi-Fi.
The motel also offers ski lockers during the ski season.
Included in the rooms are a refrigerator and a microwave.
The motel has several oversized rooms to accommodate families.
The Tongariro River Motel has its own on-site restaurant, perfect for those wishing to dine in.
The motel enjoys a prime location, allowing guests easy access to a range of popular attractions. Taupo Airport (TUO) is within a 40 minute drive away.”
The Waihohonu Hut has Seasonal restrictions
In the Great Walks season (23 October 2015 – 30 April 2016):
- Bookings are required
- Huts have gas cookers and resident wardens
Outside the Great Walks season (1 May 2016 – 20 October 2016):
- Bookings are not required – first come, first served
- There are no gas cookers or resident wardens
Historic Waihohonu Hut
You can visit Tongariro National Park’s Waihohonu Hut. The hut was built in 1904 to accommodate park visitors and tourists travelling by coach from Waiouru or Tokaanu.Its use ended in 1968, when it was replaced by a “new” Waihohonu hut (see image below – which has since been replaced by the above 28 bunk hut). After 1979 the then Tongariro National Park Board discouraged its overnight use.
It has been maintained as an unused historic hut since then.
Fabric
A timber framed hut, measuring approximately 7.2m x 4m, clad in corrugated iron. There are two rooms, the main or men’s bunkroom and the women’s bunkroom each sleeping six people.
The walls are lined on the interior with corrugated iron. The floor is tongue and groove boarding. This is very a rare and possibly unique feature. The cavity between the external and internal layers is filled with pumice.
The timber for the hut is totara, apparently pit sawn at Pihanga, though some radiata has been used for repairs, primarily in reconstruction of the chimney.
The hut occupies a most attractive site backed by beech trees with a grassed clearing in front.
This is the oldest example of a typical early two-room mountain hut in New Zealand. It employs the innovative, and possibly unique use of pumice infill for insulation. It is also an attractive vernacular building on a splendid site.
History
This hut was completed in 1904 by the Tourist and Health Resorts Department for park visitors and tourists travelling by coach from Waiouru or Tokaanu. Intensive tourist use dropped off in 1908 with the opening of the Main Trunk railway on the other side of the park. It was nevertheless used by early skiing parties and was the base for the first alpine skiing epxediition in July 1913 by William Mead and Bernard Drake – the founding members of the Ruapehu Ski club.
Its use ended in 1968, when it was replaced by a new Waihohonu hut (see photo below – now closed). After 1979 the then Tongariro National Park Board discouraged its overnight use. It has been maintained as an unused historic hut since then. Historic themes are mountain recreation, and tourism.
This was the first hut built in Tongariro National Park, oldest exisiting mountain hut in New Zealand and oldest existing building erected by the Tourist and Health Resorts Department. It was the base for the first recreational skiing in New Zealand.
It was in active use for over 60 years and remains standing on its original site. The hut was registered as a category one historic place by the Historic Places Trust in 1993.
Future management
The hut will be maintained to protect its historic fabric and minimise deterioration. A conservation plan (Cochran 1991) has been prepared to guide its management. It contains more information about the hut. As it is sited on a tramping route, the hut could be recommissioned and rented out to parties to generate revenue. In 2004, with funds donated by the Tongariro Natural History Society, new interpretive displays were installed both inside and outside the hut to mark the centennial of its construction.
Inside historic Waihohonu Hut
Image: Janette Asche ©