Chateau Tongariro

Story

Chateau Tongariro is a New Zealand hotel and resort complex.It is located close to Whakapapa skifield on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu, and is close to the volcanic peaks of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe, within the boundaries of Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's oldest.Chateau Tongariro Hotel the building was completed in 1929 and, despite extensive refurbishment, still retains much of the style of the pre-Depression era.HistoryIn 1887 the Paramount Chief of Ngati Tuwharetoa, Horonuku Te Heu Heu Tukino gifted the tribes land – including the sacred mountain peaks of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro - to the people of New Zealand. The gifting was to ensure the area’s protection for all time, for all people.In 1925 Sir James Gunson drove the first car to Whakapapa. The new ‘highway’ was pushed through towards Mt Ruapehu with the help of labour from the Whakapapa prison camp early in 1925 under the supervision of Dave Dunlop. Until then the approach to Whakapapa had been only for the fit and strong. There were miles upon miles of wild country to cross on foot or horseback, wild rivers to ford and mountainous terrain to navigate.