Click HERE for a map of Turangi and Tongariro National Park and surrounding areas

Turangi is a small town on the west bank of the Tongariro river, on the north islands Volcanic Plateau.  Located on the southern edge of Lake Taupo, just 32 miles (50 kms) south-west of the town of Taupo, the town is approximately 4 hours drive from Auckland, in the north and Wellington in the south.

The area has a strong Maori history, having been settle by warring tribes in the 16th century.  The first Europeans visited the area in the 1830's but it was not until the 1850's that European settlement really expanded, with the building of the Mission Station at nearby Pukawa.  It slowly grew into a small town, and by 1960, the population was only 600.

Then the Government started the Tongariro hydro-electric project on the nearby Tongariro and Waikato Rivers, and needed onsite workers to complete the project.  Most of the town was built originally to house the project's construction workers, and the majority of the town's buildings only date back to the early 1960's, when the population increased immensly, so by 1968 there were 6,500 residents!  As it was a planned town, it was constructed with pleasant curved streets and cul-de-sacs with grass verges and wide roads, community services, such as hospitals, schools and parks, pedestrian shopping centres and car parks, keeping the main traffic highways away from the population.

Now the town a base for fresh water sport fishing, especially trout, and the area is good for hunting, mountain biking, white water rafting, kayaking, sight seeing, leisurely bush hiking and walking in the local forests, parks and gardens.  The Tongariro National Park is nearby, as well as several charming small villages to visit.

During the autumn season, the autumn foliage is a wonderful spectacle, reminiscent of that to be seen in New England.

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