Shannon House & Cottage

13/04/2026

Winter's coming!

12/04/2026

It's been an interesting day with a full-on tropical cyclone forecast to hit the entire North Island. Our cottage guests made an early exit and reached Taupo safely, and our West Wing guests arrived from Wellington with no trouble. Ohakune, for the moment, is calm and warm. This is how our guests ride out a cyclone!

09/04/2026

It's not often we have international film stars drop into the field in front of the house but two helicopters swooped in to land this evening offloading what we're guessing is the advance crew for The Hunt for Gollum. Looks an awful lot like Andy Serkis to me!

31/03/2026

It's been a tough summer for the shuttle companies but hopefully they'll get a nice boost for Easter.

Easter Weekend is coming up!

No doom and Gloom here the usual Easter Saturday is coming up! How are we going? well we might put on an extra run at 915am given its the last day before the Clocks change and draws the evening in an hour earlier.

We figured we have a couple more weeks before we start winding down and take a break from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing for the long 6 months of winter.

The fuel price is a key deciding factor on how much we can do this winter! Costs have risen but for this easter weekend until the 12th April we will still be offering $15 per person discount on our Ketetahi Transport Service to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

Dont book those offshore booking agents! Book direct at www.scenicshuttles.co.nz

26/03/2026

Looks like a fun autumn option. Healthy fresh air and sunshine, some gentle exercise, and gin!

Te Awa Mangawhero ride is a gentle and fabulously scenic ride.

Finished your ride? Follow the signs to taste Straight Up Carrot Gin.
Tasting Room open Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 1.00pm to 5.00pm.
8 Kōwhai Crescent,
Ohakune

12/03/2026

Love our area!

06/03/2026

This might be just the pick-me-up our guests need after a tough day on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing yesterday!

Swing by Ruapehu Distillery this Saturday for a taste of our Straight Up Carrot Gin.
Saturday 1pm – 4pm
Drop in for a tasting, hear the story behind the gin, and see the distillery where it’s made.

Can’t make those hours?
Send us a message and we’ll try to fit you in.
🍸

06/03/2026

There's a new destination in town especially for gin lovers! Ruapehu Distillery has created its first batch of spirits - a gin that features carrots, of course! We went for a taste today and the Straight Up Carrot Gin did not disappoint - smooth, juniper-forward and with the depth of carefully matched botanicals. Keep an eye out for open days to drop in and have a look, and ring Susan if you want to book a full tasting tour of the plant and process. Happy to say it's within staggering distance of Shannon House & Cottage! (Off Station Rd at 8 Kowhai Cres.)

16/02/2026

While Ohakune has remained unscathed in the current round of dramatic weather, some of our guests are not so lucky. Tonight's West Wing guests are stuck in Whanganui overnight and the Cottage guests are trapped in Palmerston North! All available routes appear to be blocked by fallen trees or closed by floods. Happily, both sets of guests are able to switch to tomorrow night and I'm sure the roads will be open by then.
It's a pretty wild summer!

06/02/2026

02/02/2026

For guests planning their trip south to Ohakune in a couple of weeks, note these Desert Road night time closures from 15 Feb to 9 March. (7pm - 6am Sun - Thurs)

DESERT RD CLOSURE DETOUR MAP
SUN 15 FEB TO MON 9 MARCH
All closures are scheduled to take place overnight between Sunday 15 February and Monday 9 March (weather dependent).

Updates will be available on NZTA’s Journey Planner and pages, as well as electronic message boards in the area.
⦁ NZTA Journey Planner
https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/journey-planner
⦁ Facebook: NZTA - Waikato & Bay of Plenty
https://www.facebook.com/nztawbop

Closures here are needed to complete final surfacing in the area known as the 3 Sisters because the narrow, winding road can’t safely accommodate asphalting machinery and stop/go traffic management. Three consecutive southern sites spanning a total of 3.5km are affected: Mangamate, Oturere Hill and Mangatoetoenui.

During the overnight closures, the recommended detour is via SH41, SH47, SH4, SH49 and back to SH1 in Waiouru, and vice versa. Those travelling on this alternative route will need to bear in mind that it adds approximately 35 minutes to journeys.

As well as this T2W rebuilding work being completed under closures, there’s a significant amount of general road maintenance happening at various sites on the Desert Road during the summer works season.

This will require daytime stop/go traffic management. The schedule is being coordinated to reduce delays as much as possible.

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