Shannon House & Cottage

14/02/2025

Good to see extra care being taken on the detour route through National Park village. An accident closing that road would result in unthinkable travel hassles. Drive safely! :)

Desert Road update: We had downpours of rain this week but it hasn't delayed our rebuild of State Highway 1.

Roadworkers have kept trucking along at great pace despite this week's spells of rain, though the weather is looking bad for roadworks mid-next week (but great for farmers!) The upcoming weather may affect our plans for the longest section of our work covering over four kilometres, but workers are pushing to get as much done as possible in the next few days, including over the weekend.

Roadworkers are doing the final sealing for the northern section of work today and over the weekend. If everything goes to plan we may be able to open the northern section between Tūrangi and Rangipō ahead of schedule. This means you'd be able to use SH1 to the SH1 / SH46 intersection and connect to SH47 – but no promises from us yet as there're some things we need to work through and we need good weather. We’ll provide an update on this next week.

You can keep up to date with our progress by signing up to our email newsletter. Visit our website to sign up: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/t2w

We've heard calls for a temporary speed reduction at the intersection of SH4 and SH47 at National Park for the remainder of our Desert Road works. From today (Friday 14 February) we're reducing the current speed of 80km/h to 50km/h through this intersection while it's being used as a detour for SH1. We've also added warning signage. This temporary speed is enforceable.

There's no excuse for driving unsafely. We know travelling on a detour can be frustrating – with increased traffic, unfamiliar roads, and fewer areas to pass, it’s inevitable travel will take longer. Plan ahead and drive to the conditions – that means keep a safe following distance and only pass when it's safe.

This weekend we're expecting a significant number of people travelling across or to the Central Plateau for a number of events. Police will be patrolling the area and safety cameras will be in operation.

14/02/2025

Wow! Freddie's cafe up Mt Ruapehu is brilliant. The food is excellent and the views stunning on a clear sunny day. They're open 10am - 3pm Wed - Sun until early March. Well worth a visit. There's even ice cream!

12/02/2025

Progress on the Desert Road. Back in operation in early March. Meanwhile Ohakune is bustling!

Roadworkers are making great progress rebuilding State Highway 1 from Tūrangi to Waiouru, including Desert Road.

On Desert Road, the continued settled weather has allowed us to keep on schedule – our teams have completed the structural layer of the road (what we call the "basecourse layer") and they've now started on the road surface itself.

During this closure we're rebuilding 16 lane kilometres of road across three sites, improving drainage, and clearing approximately 15 kilometres of shoulders. We're also replacing the deck of the Mangatoetoenui Bridge during the closure.

This relies on us having good weather – we're doing this work during the warmest part of summer as we need the temperature to be a minimum of 13ºC for the more intensive road rebuilding work to be the quality required.

This intensive technique, called Foam Bitumen Stabilisation, strengthens the sections of road where the underlying layers are in poor condition.

FBS allows us to work quickly to rebuild larger sections of road – it uses bitumen, water, and air to create a foam which is mixed into the aggregate (i.e. rocks of various sizes) with cement which, when cured, creates a more waterproof and resilient structure compared to traditional methods of road construction.

While the team has been busy with the road rebuilding north of Mangatoetoenui Bridge, another crew has been busy with general maintenance down at the Waiouru end of SH1 which has included clearing 15 culverts, 1460 square metres of pavement sealing to fix potholes and rutting, and 11,670 square metres of resurfacing to patch repairs and cracked sealing, among other work.

So far we're on track of meeting our timeframe for this work taking eight weeks from 13 January, which means we're looking at wrapping up our work in early March. We can’t guarantee the good weather will last but can guarantee the roadworkers are doing their best to get work done as quickly as possible – we know how important SH1 is to you.

You can keep up to date with our work on SH1 from Tīrau to Waiouru by signing up to our email newsletter. Visit our website to sign up, and to find out more about the project: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/t2w

07/02/2025

BUY TONIGHT, SAVE $300!
It’s your last chance to ride Tūroa at our cheapest price in 2025.
Sign up today and pay just $49 with our all new payment plans.
It’s also your last chance to be entered in to win one of five PLATINUM UPGRADES absolutely free!
What are you waiting for?!

07/02/2025

Now that's good timing. All our guests are settled in and have had a view of the mountain. Now the forecast thunderstorm has broken and is delivering much-needed rain to our local vege growers. And it'll be fine tomorrow - yay!

29/01/2025

Summery yum up the mountain for another month.

Wednesday to Sunday from 10am.
1 more month of Freddie's!
Come and join us for an epic views and even better kai.

29/01/2025

Early bird ski passes are GO!

The Time Has Arrived - It’s Back On!

Grab our best deal now and don’t miss out! Our Super Early Bird season passes are available until midnight, February 7th, 2025. Lock in the best price before the rate goes up! Secure your pass today and save.

Link in the comments 💬

28/01/2025

Our favourite cafe in Ohakune!

SH1 between Tūrangi and Waiouru - including the Desert Road - closed on 13 January.

15/01/2025

Know someone who's tackling the Tongariro Alpine Crossing this summer? Check out these 5 tips for the descent from Red Crater to the Emerald Lakes ⛰️

Descending this is similar to walking downhill on soft snow or a sand dune. Sinking your heels into the soft rock will give you the best stability. Walking poles can also be helpful.

Watch a video overview of the track in Plan My Walk with examples of the best technique for descending the loose rocks 🎬

Download the app for free or visit: planmywalk.nz/tracks/tongariro-alpine-crossing

15/01/2025

This day-walk to Tama Lakes and Taranaki Falls is a beautiful alternative to the Tongariro Crossing.
Limited for time? Terrible weather? or if your energy levels arent quite what they used to be then this is the track for you.
The well-maintained track swings past the impressive Taranaki Falls, before taking you between two of Tongariro National Park’s active volcanoes; Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe, to reach the two lakes (sitting in craters left over from old vent explosions).
The trailhead for this walk is shared between Tama Lakes, Taranaki Falls and the Tongariro Northern Circuit. The track starts directly from within Whakapapa Village in Tongariro National Park, which is handy! Swing by the information centre on the way if you end up needing directions, its definantly worth the stop either way.

13/01/2025

Mmmmm! The calories count less at high altitude.

12/01/2025

A stunning moonrise at sunset!

08/01/2025

A reminder to any of our guests heading south from Taupo to reach us - after Jan 12th turn right at Turangi to drive down Highway 47 via National Park village because the Desert Road (Highway 1) will be completely closed for several weeks from Turangi to Waiouru.

It's always a good idea to check the NZTA Journey Planner website for news of unexpected roadworks, slips, or wild weather conditions. We like our guests to be safe!

07/12/2024

Do check NZTA journey planner before your drive to Ohakune as several local roads have closures due in the next few weeks.

06/12/2024

It's hard to imagine next winter while summer is beaming down on the Central Plateau and steadily melting last winter's snow from Mt Ruapehu. But the good folks at Pure Turoa are already prearing for next ski season. Check it out!

Get ready – 2025 Season Passes go on sale Thursday, December 12th at 12:30 PM!

We appreciate your patience, and trust us, it’ll be worth the wait! Thanks to our new online shop we’re excited to offer an amazing interest-free payment plan. Pay just $50 upfront, with the balance spread over 4 easy instalments next year.
This offer applies to both Season Passes and Platinum Passes.

30/11/2024

Nearly time for another Tussock Traverse run - Jan 25th.
https://tussocktraverse.co.nz/?fbclid=IwY2xjawG3U3VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHTfN2sRakrogSW10-CPqoQ2FmDd9WUYANseeII-UeX5Izsm3UugRv2q6Pw_aem_r8-2gon7VxqyUoKJcyAcLQ

This is one beast of a trail running and walking event held in the Tongariro National Park The Tussock Traverse RETURNS in 2024 to celebrate its 20th birthday!

11/11/2024

A beautiful morning on the Central Plateau. Our intrepid guests in the West Wing did the Taranaki Falls track and whitewater rafting yesterday (her) and the Tongariro Crossing (him). Today they're out on the deck enjoying breakfast and it's only 5c out there!

11/11/2024

Of interest to mountain bikers hoping to do the Bridge to Nowhere trail. Looks like that may take a while to clear.

Update. NOW OPEN 13/11/24 See comments below.. We have a major slip between the Bridge to Nowhere and the Mangapurua Landing. It is impassable. The team from Department of Conservation are working on a solution. This impacts the riders and the walkers . We will update our trail status page soon
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