'Unparalled' skiing Summer plans out

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 501, 31 August 1993, Page 3 (Supplement)

'Unparalled' skiing Summer plans out

Everyone is talking about the unparalleled skiing to be had on both sides of Mt Ruapehu these August holidays. Whakapapa The 'Magic Mountain' Whakapapa enjoyed its best weekend for the season, with approximately 8,500 visitors to the slopes. Saturday's 15cm of powder snow had skiers buzzing and Sunday's perfectly clear skies meant excellent skiing from top to bottom.

All facilities are operational, and Whakapapa's school holiday programme is in full swing as of yesterday, with plenty of fun activities to keep the kids amused. Each fine day between 10am-12pm7 children can participate in the free activities being held at Happy Valley. The week kicked off with a fun treasure hunt with plenty of prizes for all entrants. This Friday children will be able to take a

close-up look at a snow grooming machine and talk to one of the staff, when a snow groomer comes to Happy Valley. Whakapapa's Tyrolia and Rossignol ski demo days were well supported, as were the Bolle and Serengeti sun glasses demo days. Turoa The buzz word around the Turoa Ski Resort at present is "Yow" (to quote Promotions Manager Rob Jewell), and seems appropriate enough when summing up the fantastic skiing in hand. Turoa enjoyed their busiest day for the season on Sunday, with nearly 4,000 skiers taking advantage of the champagne powder snow available. All facilities were operational and in great demand. The weekend's Diet Pepsi race series attracted a record number of entries, with some brilliant times recorded. Another popular weekend attraction was the Movenpic ice cream give-aways. The Turoa Skiwi programme begins this week, with free supervised fun activities being held at the Parklane Chair between l-3pm every fine day.

Winter snows may be frozen in place on Tongariro's mountains, but the Department of Conservation is already preparing for summer. Last Friday the 1993-94 Summer Programme brochure was released. The brochure is full of information about the guided walks, bike trips, talks and other activities available in the area over summer, plus information from tourist operators around the area on their services, be they accommodation, guided trips, other activities, or regular services. More and more people are visiting the Tongariro National Park and neighbouring reserves in summer, and DoC has been running the programme for many years to provide an easy insight into the magic and mysteries of the unique natural features of the area. The brochure includes descriptions of the more than 60 trips run from the service centres at Ohakune, Whakapapa, Turangi and Taupo, plus timetables of when each trip is to run. Detailed information on what you

need, what level of fitness is required, and other helpful advice is also included. The brochure is distributed through DoC offices, information centres, tourist outlets and accommodation houses throughout the area and through DoC offices around the North Island. "We also have a huge mailing list of people who receive the brochure, and anyone can get their name on the list," said brochure

planner Karen Hawke. "This year we are not taking bookings for trips until October, to give everyone a chance to get hold of a copy of the programme." "Last year we had some . trips booked out as soon as the brochure was released." The brochure was produced by Karen Hawke, at the Department of Conservation offices in Turangi, with help from field centre staff Rob

McCallum, Jan ClaytonGreen, John Carter and Dave Lumley. Press officer Lianne Campbell also helped. The Ruapehu Bulletin helped with publishing, including selling and production of the advertising space, which paid for the brochure. "We're looking forward to seeing a lot more locals on the trips - they keep making promises, so maybe this year it will happen," said Karen.

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