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taihape
 The small market
town of Taihape lies on the southern edge of the Central Volcanic
Plateau and promotes itself as the ‘Gumboot Capital of New
Zealand’.
It takes a certain degree of boldness and fierce independence of
spirit to claim such a title for your town. However, the locals
have no doubt about the vital importance of gumboots in the rain
swept valleys of the Rangitikei. They compete aggressively in the
celebrated annual ‘Gumboot Throwing Contest’ in which
participants endeavour to toss a gumboot the greatest distance
across a paddock.
Taihape occupies a basin on the banks of the Hautapu River and
was first known as Koronokonui, ‘The place of the big
bird’, referring to the 5 metre tall giant moa which was the
main source of protein for New Zealand’s earliest
inhabitants and was hunted to extinction.
Today the citizens take pride in their parks and gardens. The
Taihape Domain is a pleasant recreational reserve with a network
of bushwalks, and the adjacent Oval has sports grounds,
showgrounds and a swimming pool. Keen gardeners who visit Taihape
are able to view the four showpiece gardens of Titoki, Rongoiti,
Waitoka and Kiri Kiri, which are all within a one hour drive from
the town.
The Rangitikei region stretches from Taihape to Bulls and
includes many picturesque river valleys. The visitor centre in
Hautapu Street has a pamphlet entitled ‘Rangitikei - The
Undiscovered Secret’. This shows that within an extra long
toss of the old boot from Taihape, there is a wide range of
popular adventures including white-water rafting, abseiling,
kayaking, horse trekking and bushwalking.
North of Taihape is the Waiouru Military Base, which includes the
very polished Army Memorial Museum. The history of the New
Zealand Army in times of war and peacekeeping operations is well
told with very realistic displays and audio-visuals.
To the south is the tiny settlement of Mangaweka where you will
find the Aeroplane Café, a venerable old D.C.3 aircraft, which
has been converted to an elevated café beside the highway.
Taihape’s strong pioneering spirit will ensure that it will
long retain its title, as ‘New Zealand’s only Gumboot
City’.
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