Ski Waka
Things to do in Ohakune
Ride Sky Waka
JOURNEY INTO THE CLOUDS
NZ’s largest and most technically advanced gondola. Situated within the dual world heritage Tongariro National Park, Sky Waka travels 1.8kms through one of the North Island’s most rugged and spectacular landscapes on Whakapapa, Mt Ruapehu.
Uphill capacity of 2400 people per hour
Operating speed is up to 6 meters per second
A symbol of the future
BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER
The waka, celebrated by name in song and story by Ma?ori poets and orators, we know it to be more than a voyaging canoe, more than a carrier of people – the waka carries family. All Ma?ori, after all, have lineal ties with the chiefs of the great waka.
As the highest and longest gondola upon Te Ika a Maui, this is more than a machine. It is a vessel to bring people together, to elevate them, together, upon this great maunga. It is a thread, weaving earth and sky.
We celebrate the waka and its symbolism of interconnectedness between the past with the present and future. For this is surely a symbol of the future, ascending this ancient mountain.