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Forest & Bird’s new Ruapehu lodge opened
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 – Wellington
Forest
& Bird media release for immediate use
Forest & Bird’s new Ruapehu lodge opened
Forest & Bird’s
new Ruapehu lodge was officially opened today by the
Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand, and Paramount Chief
of Ngati Tuwharetoa, Sir Tumu Te Heuheu.
The new 32-bed lodge replaces the original building, which was destroyed by fire two years ago.
The mayor of the Ruapehu district, local iwi, regional councillors and Forest & Bird members from all over the country also attended the opening.
The local iwi – Ngati Tuwharetoa – blessed the lodge at the start of the ceremony and Sir Anand and Sir Tumu later unveiled a plaque on the building to commemorate the opening.
Forest & Bird General Manager Mike Britton said the opening of the lodge was an important day for Forest & Bird.
“We are excited that just two years after the original lodge burned down, once again our members, and their families and friends have a base for discovering New Zealand’s native plants and animals in a unique and magnificent part of the country.”
“The old lodge was loved by the thousands who stayed in it and this new building is even better.”
The project to build a new lodge was overseen by Forest & Bird executive member Jon Wenham.
The building is set amongst beech forest, 600
metres from The Chateau Tongariro hotel on the lower slopes
of Mt Ruapehu and is ideally positioned to explore the
Tongariro National Park and Whakapapa
skifield.
Construction was done in an
environmentally-friendly way with panels built offsite and
assembled at the lodge site to minimise waste in the
national park. The heavily insulated lodge has double-glazed
aluminium windows and is clad in locally grown Lawson cyprus
to create an energy-efficient and low maintenance
building.
Forest & Bird’s original Ruapehu lodge at Whakapapa Village opened in August 1967, giving the society’s members and other groups a permanent base to enjoy forest and alpine walks and learn about native plants and animals.
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