Newsletter - July 2025
- Adrian Bosch
- Jul 30
- 3 min read
Open for bookings
Whakapapa lodge and Ohakune house are open for bookings....
During the autumn work parties, the Whakapapa lodge stores were replenished, and firewood topped up in the Ohakune garage so no one should be cold!
Remember that members who paid the subs before 30 June this year, have two free nights accommodation to use this season!
Ski fields updates
Whakapapa and Tūroa opened their intermediate and advanced slopes chairlifts on July 26 with the Delta Chairlift and High Noon Express, respectively:
Whakapapa and Turoa both invested in more snowmaking ability for this season. WHL is adding 10 new automated snow guns to improve a 2.5-kilometre trail, from the Knoll Ridge Chalet (2020m) down to the base area and Happy Valley, and moving other snow guns further up the mountain.
From past seasons we know that snow builds throughout August and onwards. We just need the right combination of cold, precipitation, and sunny days, which we’ve had all of!
Custodian
Custodian Linda Reed is at the lodge for as long as the ski field remains open, from Wednesday night and leaving on Sunday each week.
It will be necessary for the weekend Lodge Officer to complete a brief shut down on Sunday afternoon before leaving, or to handover to another senior member staying on from Sunday night, to particularly ensure that all heaters and other electrical items other than essential appliances and alarms are turned off. A check list will be developed.
New members
Pleasingly, we’ve had about 25 new members, including seven in their teens, join since the AGM. If you meet any of them in the club buildings please make them welcome and help them with the workings of the lodge/house, and the mountain. Many of us are committed “lifers” for whom the club, friendships, and adventures have provided us many fantastic times!
Club events, & group bookings
We’ll be advising in future newsletters plans for club events, according to the season. Typically, they include club race weekend, a theme weekend, and school holidays when there might be mid-week group bookings for at least part of Whakapapa.
North Is Schools Ski Championships
The North Island Primary & Intermediate Schools Ski Championships, sanctioned by Snow Sports NZ, is due to be held at Whakapapa from 24–27 August. This is one of the largest snow sports events in the country, with at times in excess of 150 teams organised by competing schools.
Guest bookings
To promote bookings and new membership we are trialling equal priority of guest bookings on first come basis with members for the month of August.
Any feedback from experiences with this via committee@iwikau.com will help decide whether to extend this for the entire season or to apply it for only mid-week bookings.
Members may book non-member friends into the club when the member is not going to be accompanying them. However, the website booking system cannot facilitate that correctly in absence of the member. Instead, the member needs to email Murray Oliver via bookings@iwikau.com giving the dates of arrival and departure, names of adults, and names and ages of any children, and guest contact phone and email. Murray would create an off-line booking and email the member with the accommodation fees payable and payment method. Once payment goes through Murray can finally confirm the booking. The standard booking rules apply in all cases.
Whakapapa food lift
Mark’s mountain mule. It has to be said (!), that in the old days we back-packed the stores up. The 5-6 hikes up with fully loaded back packs were perfect tests for season fitness! All in favour of reinstating?
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