Four Pools on the Tongariro ~ Turangi NZ
Four Pools, Four Lives.
in Taupahi, river side on Tongariro
There’s
a particular pleasure in walking the Taupahi side of the Tongariro River. It’s
not just the rhythm of the track or the ever-changing light on the water; it’s
the quiet sense that you are moving through layers of history. Every bend, every
pool, has a story. For anglers, these names are familiar. For walkers, they
become markers of curiosity.
For us, four pools stand out: Duchess’s, Admiral’s, Judge’s, and Major’s. Each carries a name earned not just by rank, but by story, lived, retold, and anchored firmly in this stretch of river.
This is where they began.
We celebrate
these early fisher people with the naming of our rooms. Why? Because we always love a good story!
The
Duchess Pool ~ Royal Persistence on the River
The Duchess Pool is one of the most storied stretches of the Tongariro, its
name tracing back to 1927, when the Duchess of York, later Queen Elizabeth, the
Queen Mother, visited the region with the future King George VI. Yes ... you read that correctly!
A
temporary camp was established at Kowhai Flat, supplied daily by horse and
wagon. Expectations were high. However, the fishing, was not immediately
obliging. After several fruitless outings, it was the Duchess who quietly
succeeded, landing the best fish of the day from a pool that had been
overlooked.
In
true Tongariro fashion, the river ignored status but rewarded persistence. The
name has endured ever since and we love our Duchess Suite, named in the memory of her success on the river.
The pool continued to draw notable visitors: more royalty, including Elizabeth ll herself, Governors-General, and even author Zane Grey, who famously cast from a plank to reach midstream fish. Floods have reshaped the riverbed over the decades, but the Duchess Pool remains essential, both for its fishing and its story.
Admiral’s
Pool ~ Lord Jellicoe’s River Refuge
Admiral’s Pool honours Lord John Jellicoe, Admiral of the Fleet and
Governor-General of New Zealand from 1920 to 1924.
Based
at Taylor’s Camp on Taupahi Road, he became a quiet, familiar figure. Rising
early, he fished the stretch below the Ministry of Works quarry with consistent
success. That water would become Admiral’s Pool.
Local
angler, Joe Frost, remembered him as capable, approachable, and entirely at
ease, just another fisherman when standing in the current. One often-told
moment has him sharing a billy of tea on the bank after forgetting his lunch.
For Jellicoe, the river offered calm, rhythm, and perhaps a measure of distance from the weight of command.
Judge’s Pool ~ Sir Henry Ostler’s Relentless Spirit
Judge’s Pool reflects the life and character of Sir Henry Hubert Ostler, King’s
Counsel, later knighted, and one of New Zealand’s most colourful legal minds.
But
it is his determination on and off the river that defines him here. Struck by a
progressive illness that weakened his right arm, Ostler simply taught himself
to write with his left and carried on. That same resolve showed in his fishing.
Stories tell of him crafting a ladder to access hidden water near the Red Hut,
appearing suddenly on the river to land fish at a remarkable pace, the whirr of
his reel announcing his presence before he was seen.
On
another occasion, he bush-bashed to a secret pool, fishing with hand-tied
nymphs made from a neighbour’s parrot feathers. We're not sure just at what stage The Olive Rabbit became a lure used by the fishermen
Judge’s Pool today remains one of the most reliable and accessible stretches of river, still demanding thought, still rewarding skill and a fitting legacy to the Judge.
Major’s Pool ~ The Larger-Than-Life Angler
Major Rhys Wykeham Jones was, by all accounts, impossible to miss.
Born
in 1863, he served with the Royal Sussex Regiment across Egypt, India, and the
North-West Frontier, including the Nile Expedition of 1884. After 25 years of
service, he retired as a Major and arrived in New Zealand in 1910, drawn, as so
many were, by the fishing.
He
became a regular on the Tongariro, often staying at Tokaanu or nearby camps.
With the aid of a motorbike, something of a rarity, he would reach the best
pools early, staking his claim with considerable presence. Standing over six
feet tall and weighing around 20 stone, that’s 127kgs, he was known to guard
his chosen water with enthusiasm. That water became Major’s Pool.
Despite
his imposing nature, there was humour in his story. Joe Frost once remarked
that the Major “landed all his fish with the subtlety of a warship weighing
anchor”, hardly delicate, but undeniably effective. At the time, the river’s
rainbow trout were famously large, often averaging over 11 pounds. His methods
could be equally robust. Disinclined toward brown trout, he reportedly used
field mice as bait at night for the biggest fish in the pool, an approach that
would raise eyebrows today but speaks to the era and the man.
Major Jones died in 1922, but his name lives on, attached not just to the pool, but to the bridge nearby, and to the enduring legend of a fisherman who matched the river in scale and character.
Walking
Through It All
To
walk this side of the Tongariro is to move through these stories, royal visits,
military lives, legal minds, and larger-than-life personalities, all drawn here
by the same thing: the river.
For anglers, these pools remain productive, technical, and endlessly engaging. For walkers, they offer something just as rich, a connection to place, to history, and to the generations who have stood in the same current.
And when you pause at the edge of one of these pools, you may find yourself imagining it:
The Admiral's Early Start,
The Judge's Ingenuity, and of course,
The Major's Booming Existence.
Ø the river carries on, naturally.
But it remembers...
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