THE OLD POST OFFICE Holiday Home.

The Old Post Office is a gorgeously restored century-old Post Office, converted into a bespoke art-deco inspired vacation home, located 4-hours south of Auckland (NZ’s largest city) and 4-hours north of Wellington (NZ’s capital city), in the heart of the Ruapehu District … the “outdoors capital” of the North Island.

The “West Wing” (the old Post Office) features an opulent Gatsby-style lounge; beautiful Kitchen-Dining with laundry facilities (the old Telephonist room); romantic 4-poster Queen bedroom; the elegant “Peacock” double bedroom (the old Postmaster’s office); a lovely “Triple” bedroom (double-single bunk-bed); Bathroom facilities of a Shower (converted from the Post Office’s original phone-booth) with separate Toilet; Drying Room cupboard; Gun Vault with ammunition safe (for hunters); and a fab Back Deck with Finnish-style sauna cabin, alpine-style hot-tub spa-pool, and fire-pit with Cape Cod style seating to toast your marshmallows for making s’mores.

Its “East Wing” (the old Postmaster’s Residence) features an elegant Queen Bedroom (the original Postmaster’s bedroom); two Double Bedrooms (the original children’s bedrooms); Bathroom with shower & toilet; and a roomy simple 2nd Kitchen-Dining-Laundry. In-between the two wings is the uber-cool interconnecting Dorm Room with 4 x Single Beds (the original Postmaster’s Lounge). Adjacent to the house, is a garage (the original first Post Office built) which can be used to store your outdoor gear such as bikes, fishing-rods, kayaks, skis & snowboards.

Within half an hour in multiple directions are many of NZ’s top cycle trails, and hiking treks, including the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Pureora Timber Trail. Plus, just a half-hour away is NZ’s largest ski-field Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu, generally operating June-Oct (which is also where the year-round SkyWaka Gondola ride is located) – and an hour away is the Turoa ski-field on the other side of Mt Ruapehu near quaint Ohakune Village.

Just 5-10 mins drive from the Post Office (and all over the region in fact) is world-class fly-fishing (brown & rainbow trout); and 15-mins away is the start of the rail-cart tours along the incredible Forgotten Highway. This is also the region where the mighty Whanganui River runs, with its unforgettable kayaking and the extraordinary Bridge to Nowhere.

This Old Post Office in Ōwhango Village, has been rated as one of the Top 13 Best Historic & Heritage accommodations in NZ, and has earned the highly prestigious 5-Star Qualmark grading … an incredibly authentic piece of NZ Kiwiana. All up, it is a terrific set-up for extended multi-generational families, and groups of Singles/Couples who enjoy being off the beaten track.

HANDICAP ACCESSIBILITY:
The East-Wing entrance has a ramp for easy wheelchair access into the whole bungalow. Do note there are no wheelchair-accessible showers, and there are two steps down from the West-Wing kitchen-dining, to the Back Deck (where the sauna, spa-pool & firepit are located).