Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP OF CHAPTER
National Park Village
POP 200
This small sprawl of a town lies at the junction of SH4 and SH47 at 825m above sea
level, 15km from the hub of Whakapapa Village. In ski season the township is packed,
but in summer it's sleepy despite being a handy base for activities in and around the park.
As you'll discover, it's railway country around here. About 20km south on SH4 at
Horopito
is a monument to the Last Spike, the spike that marked the completion of the
Main Trunk Railway Line between Auckland and Wellington in 1908 (although Horopito
is better known for Smash Palace, NZ's most famous car graveyard). Five kilometres
north from National Park, at
Raurimu
, is evidence of the engineering masterpiece that is
the 'spiral'. Trainspotters will marvel, while non-trainspotters will probably wonder what
the hell they're looking at it (there's not much to see).
Activities
There's little to do in the village itself, its major enticement being its proximity to
national-park tramps, mountain-bike trails (
Click here
)
, canoe trips on the Whanganui
River, and winter skiing. Most accommodation in town offers packages for lift passes
and ski hire, sparing you the steeper prices further up the mountain. Ski gear can be hired
from
Eivins
(
07-892 2757;
07-892 2717;
www.skibiz.co.nz
;
10 Carroll
St)
.
Daily shuttles leave from here to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Whakapapa Vil-
lage in summer, and the ski area in winter.
Adrift Guided
Outdoor Adventures
CANOEING, HIKING
( 07-892 2751, 0800 462 374;
www.adriftnz.co.nz
; 3 Waimarino-Tokaanu Road)
Runs guided
canoe trips on the Whanganui River (one to six days, $245 to $999), as well as freedom -
canoe hire (three to five days, $185 to $205) and all necessary transfers. It also offers
guided tramps in Tongariro National Park (two hours to three days, $95 to $850).
