State Highway 4 is an important route in the 2023 Whanganui Summer Programme — four bus trips will journey up through the Parapara next month to their destinations.
The first is to Mt Ruapehu on January 4 with the highpoint a ride on the new Sky Waka. Hopefully, it will be a clear day for tour participants who will journey into the clouds on New Zealand’s largest enclosed gondola, travelling nearly 2km to the Knoll Ridge Restaurant. This trip is subject to the Sky Waka operating and bookings close on December 30.
On January 9 a trip will go to Rotopounamu (greenstone lake), near Turangi, The two-hour mostly flat 5km loop walk around the lake is noted for its bush and birdlife. Heading home the bus will stop to explore the earthworks at the historic Te Porere redoubt, the site of the last battle of the New Zealand Wars where Te Kooti was defeated by a combined force of Armed Constabulary and Māori fighters in 1869. The trip, which was last on the WSP seven years ago, ends with a visit to the new Makotuku Walkway at Raetihi.
A train ride from Taumarunui to Ohakune, over the famous Raurimu Spiral, takes place on January 12. This trip was withdrawn last year by KiwiRail due to the Covid-19 epidemic. After bussing to Taumarunui and the historic Cherry Grove, participants get on the Northern Explorer and ride to Ohakune — a journey to remember.
On January 14 a bus will take the road from Raurimu to Blue Duck Station at Whakahoro where the Steele family runs a successful tourism venture at Retaruke Station. The trip includes a picnic lunch at Mangapapa, a campsite in Whanganui National Park, travelling down by jet boat. This new trip is an opportunity to learn about the history of the valley and the upper river.
