DuxHouse BnB

11/08/2026

4 years ago this week we welcomed our first guests at DuxHouse BnB. We can't believe we're entering our 5th year in business now! What a journey it has been so far.

We've hosted well over 625 guest stays, with nearly 1200 people from over 30 countries staying so far.

Whether it's international tourists inspired to come and see the home of Lord of the Rings, locals in for a quick pitstop enroute to family or a local adventure, or workers, we welcome everyone.

And we are still committed to keeping the 2nd "B" in "BnB": Breakfast is always included.

We hope to see you soon. Travel
safe.

05/08/2026

While the flurries didn't return this morning, we still got a good (snowball-worthy) dusting of overnight snow on our town's icon: the big gumboot. Not something we see often!

Plus a newspaper article stated today that "Travel website WorldAtlas has named Taihape as one of 12 small New Zealand towns with “unmatched friendliness”.

04/08/2026

Travel website WorldAtlas has named Taihape as one of 12 small New Zealand towns with “unmatched friendliness” and we can only agree.

We hit the streets of Taihape to find out what the locals thought.

04/08/2026

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dbmdr_etV03/?igsh=dDRuNHN3Z21qa2x1

Let it snow, let it snow. ❄️

We enjoyed a good 2 hours of snow flurries this afternoon.

30/07/2026

We often get asked how far it is from us to get good mountain views. Define "good". While Mt Ruapehu is visible from the higher points in Taihape (Mt Stewart lookout tower), and it puts on a show on the 20-minute drive to Waiouru, you just can't beat Tongariro NP views from the Desert Road. The entrance car park to the more adventurous Tukino skifield is a great stop to take in the views safely. 35 mins from our doorstep. Looking pretty pretty with all this snow.

NP
peaks
of Nz

Rd

01/07/2026

Plastic bottle vs glass bottle? How do you prefer your water in a BnB stay?

25/05/2026

Absolutely loving the new Taihape map that has gone up by the Gumboot, matching recent designs from elsewhere in the Rangitikei region (Bulls, I'm looking at you). Our building foot print is the last visible one in the top left, showing just how close we are to town. Which walking loop will you discover next?



loops

27/04/2026

Taihape, where gumboots are the way of life. A gumboot is even featured on this sign, as you come in from the Hawkes Bay over the Gentle Annie.

18/04/2026

Our Guest Manual was long overdue for an update.

We used for a mix of fonts, adding little personal notes in a handwritten font, using the BnB logo font for the headers, and a clear type one for the details.

For a small town, we have a lot to offer:

The milly filly, chowder and keto breakfast cakes are some of our personal favourites at the old telephone exchange building of

While the coffee, donuts and whittakers slices at are some of our favourite guilty pleasures for a quick treat.

What will you try out next?


Manual

.com