Rimutakas Summit Cafe'

[Paul in NZ]

AND the toilet block! is under threat of demolition! (the bastards)

The cafe' owner and operators are trying to drum up support so next time you are up there ask how (cos i dunno)

This is based on an article in the latest Capital Times - Its free - cheack it OUT!!!

This is like closing the Ace Cafe' - it can't be done, think of us old guys bladders FFS - I demand action ! (or a porta loo)

[Mom]

AND the toilet block! is under threat of demolition! (the bastards)

The cafe' owner and operators are trying to drum up support so next time you are up there ask how (cos i dunno)

This is based on an article in the latest Capital Times - Its free - cheack it OUT!!!

This is like closing the Ace Cafe' - it can't be done, think of us old guys bladders FFS - I demand action ! (or a porta loo)

Go behind the bushes......LOL, for me it would be what about the poor girlies, mind you it would be the bushes for me anyhow as me and porta loos do not go together.......LOL

[Trudes]

Nooooooo, not the toilets!!! I NEED those toilets!! (Yes my riding scares the shit out of me!)

[Madness]

It's been known for some time now that Wgtn regional Council intends to level the buildings atop the Hill. To be honest I don't think the boys are terribly upset by this, despite having put in the time, money & effort, the business is only just making ends meet. Due to the lack of power supply, the cost of running the Café is higher than most due to the cost of running a diesel generator all day every day. This is also why the lads have never had hot food such as pies available, too costly to keep 'em hot.

It might be a prime opportunity for a truck-based vendor to look at seasonal coverage up there?

[Trudes]

That's it, I'm buying a bulk lot of Shewees then, any you other gals want one?

[Lissa]

How sad the boys arent making money :(. Would be a shame to close down. And the Toilets!!!! NO ... even though they arent the best toilets in the world.. its better than squatting in the bushes!! Think of the children!!

[Lissa]

That's it, I'm buying a bulk lot of Shewees then, any you other gals want one?
Ummm tempting as that is and so so cool... would rather have the toilets thanks :D

[jimbo600]

Hell yeah, I always require a mud puppy when I reach the top of the hill.

Not just us broken arses though. Heaps of motorists stop at the top for a 'comfort' stop.

[blacksheep]

Hell yeah, I always require a mud puppy when I reach the top of the hill.

Not just us broken arses though. Heaps of motorists stop at the top for a 'comfort' stop.

no wonder its so slippy up top of hill:sick:

[Trudes]

between the crap and the puddles of vomit up there, it's a wonder we can park our bikes at all!

[Hitcher]

I understand that the decision to close the dunnies has been widely advertised after public consultation on the matter. They are amongst the most expensive to maintain loos in the Greater Wellington Region.

[Lissa]

I understand that the decision to close the dunnies has been widely advertised after public consultation on the matter. They are amongst the most expensive to maintain loos in the Greater Wellington Region.
Hmm but what am I going to do without toilets at the top? I usually stop up there.. and gas bag for ages. Ok Trudes get me some shewees!

[Colapop]

Just plant some bushes....

[Hitcher]

Ok Trudes get me some shewees!

You'll need a resource consent if you plan to use one of those up there.

[Paul in NZ]

I understand that the decision to close the dunnies has been widely advertised after public consultation on the matter. They are amongst the most expensive to maintain loos in the Greater Wellington Region.

What? Did they nail a notice to the bottom of a locked draw in the stateroom of the frigate wellington just before it was sunk?

I'm old - my bladder fills up quickly - I demand compensation!

Paul N

(bugger the little van full of food when the cafe's gone - I'll hire a Porta Loo and charge you all $5 to use it....)

[oldrider]

Hey guys, is the old Cafe building still there?

I thought it was closed and demolished years ago!

Didn't notice last time over because it was raining so hard we didn't stop there.

Couldn't see due to the low cloud.

If it is still there and vacant, could it be made into a bike club and/or bike stopping place!

I have always thought it would great to have a "Mecca for motorbikes", a place just for bikers!

Top of the Takas would seem as good a place as any. :yes: Cheers John.

[et al]

I will certainly miss the place when it closes down, I always go in and buy a can of "V" - I think they probably call me "the can of V guy" because that is all I ever buy and they usually get it out without me having to ask. I am a creature of habit, don't like change and it just won't be the same up there without the Cafe - but I do understand the economics etc and I would be surprised if that place ever made a lot of money, top effort to keep it going as long as they have, and much appreciated.

[limbimtimwim]

Top of the Takas would seem as good a place as any. :yes: Cheers John.Yep, 'tis. With all the bullshit and cigarettes. See this: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&view=map&t=h&om=1&ll=-41.114631,175.231896&spn=0.001778,0.005407&z=18

All those dots along the Southern fence? Bikes :) :)

[Coyote]

Just get a big fan and hook it up to their original generator and put that on top of a pole. Wind power, the way of the future

Would be neat to have a biker mecca, however you'd have to deal with a whole bunch of cagers wanting to take a whizz or grab a snack. It may as well be a generic cafe for everyone up there

[Madness]

Just get a big fan and hook it up to their original generator and put that on top of a pole. Wind power, the way of the future


The lease holder (the lads landlord) has been trying to get a wind turbine running up there for 10 years now quite unsuccesfully. The summit is doomed as an economically sensible place to operate any kind of business, even a flushing toilet.

[The Pastor]

just have a big fire place heating the pies up. Yummy.

[Lissa]

I have the answer PaulNZ! You could wear Nappies... that way you can ride all day long and not stop! :scooter: Just take some ointment with you for the Nappy Rash :D


You'll need a resource consent if you plan to use one of those up there.Well Mr Hitcher.. like anyones going to catch me!! :Punk: I'm fast when I want to be.

[Zapf]

The lease holder (the lads landlord) has been trying to get a wind turbine running up there for 10 years now quite unsuccesfully. The summit is doomed as an economically sensible place to operate any kind of business, even a flushing toilet.

why wern't they able to get a wind turbine up there? Its a good location... hate to see it go to waste.

[limbimtimwim]

I have the answer PaulNZ! You could wear Nappies... that way you can ride all day long and not stop!Hey, I just thought of a joke:

How does Paul in NZ taste?
Depends.

:rofl: :rofl:


why wern't they able to get a wind turbine up there? Its a good location... hate to see it go to waste.I imagine because they would get destroyed by the wind. You'd need a very sturdy one.

[Drew]

Would a gold coin donation box at the door to the loo not take care of the issue? I'd happily pay a couple bucks for the use of facilities.

I'll ask the guys in the cafe next time i'm up there.

Might have to start buying more than just one coffee too, do my bit to keep the place running an' all that.

[magicfairy]

Would a gold coin donation box at the door to the loo not take care of the issue? I'd happily pay a couple bucks for the use of facilities.


Probably last about 34 nanoseconds before some low-life scum crowbars it from the wall and takes off with it :bye:

[Nasty]

I heard that part of the problem with the toilets is that there are a pile of cracked pipes that niether Featherston or Upper Hutt councils have the incliation to fix ... also while there are shit loads of people who stop on the hill only a small percentage go into the cafe ... I have to admit their food is pretty good and the prices are very on the ball.

[NZsarge]

AND the toilet block! is under threat of demolition! (the bastards)

Thats just stupid....and wrong!

[Grub]

It's a Catch-22 isn't it.

I look at the number of people who stop there and how few of them go into the cafe. Is that because it just doesn't look inviting enough? To look more inviting, it needs money spent on it, to spend money on it means it needs more patronage .... errr

For a whole bunch of reasons (social, safety and convenience) I would think no matter what the cost, the retention of those facilities is an essential part of what the Regional Council is required to do.

When it snows up there and people get stranded, that place has often been the only safe refuge. Also for traffic congestion relief, it provides a place for slow vehicles to pull off the road and release the queues.

So many more reasons than just economics for the Regional Council to not only keep them open but to also enhance the facilities. Perhaps they should charge no rent for it instead of pulling it down!

[Hitcher]

Well Mr Hitcher.. like anyones going to catch me!! I'm fast when I want to be.

Just be mindful of what Kinje's day job is when choosing your riding companions, should the call of nature overcome you.

[bistard]

Thats just wrong,I make a point of buying something everytime I stop up there,knowing full well this was going to happen
I suggest everybody does the same if not allready

[FlangMasterJ]

Come to think of it I have yet to enter the Summit cafe even though I have been traversing the 'Hill' my whole life. Maybe I should pop in before it's too late.

[Lissa]

Just be mindful of what Kinje's day job is when choosing your riding companions, should the call of nature overcome you.What you think HES quick enough to catch me? Damn I'm not riding with him anymore... not when I have to go to the loo.

Yea I will make an effort to buy something everytime I go up there... usually just buy a diet coke.

[Hitcher]

I don't think that a sudden influx of people wanting to spend their money at the Rimutaka Cafe will make a jot of difference. The decision to close has been made. Yet another case of people not appreciating what they've got until it's gone. Use it or lose it.

[bistard]

I don't think that a sudden influx of people wanting to spend their money at the Rimutaka Cafe will make a jot of difference. The decision to close has been made. Yet another case of people not appreciating what they've got until it's gone. Use it or lose it.

Mmm,Sad but true!!

[Grub]

I wonder if an email campaign to the Welly Regional Council would be too late? anyone familiar with their decision-making process or know a council mmeber they can ask?

[Lissa]

Its true Hitch.. but most times I go up, its closed anyway. When it is open I always see people in there.. its just a shame that they have so many problems with electricity supply etc. :(

[Hitcher]

I wonder if an email campaign to the Welly Regional Council would be too late? anyone familiar with their decision-making process or know a council mmeber they can ask?

The GWRC process only relates to the dunnies atop the Takas, not to the store. That process has run through all of its public submission stages and is now a done deal. I don't think that councillors would be swayed by people who think they may like to use public toilets, otherwise every public lay-by would need to have these.

The cost of maintaining those toilets is significant -- as there is no city water supply, electricity or sewerage, vandalism is an issue, and it's a long way for people to travel to service this amenity.

[oldrider]

All these comments suggest to me me that it probably wont be long before the Taka road is straightened out like the old Wainuiomata road was!

I remember the shock I got when I returned to find what they had done to the Wainui road! :shit:

After all it is not a very long piece of road and it wouldn't take too much to do it.

It would really open up the Wairarapa / Wellington access considerably and remove another bottleneck.

Alternatively a road tunnel is not out of the question either! :dodge: John.

[Lissa]

All these comments suggest to me me that it probably wont be long before the Taka road is straightened out like the old Wainuiomata road was!

I remember the shock I got when I returned to find what they had done to the Wainui road! :shit:

After all it is not a very long piece of road and it wouldn't take too much to do it.

It would really open up the Wairarapa / Wellington access considerably and remove another bottleneck.

Alternatively a road tunnel is not out of the question either! :dodge: John.
They have been talking about a road tunnel for years, its never going to happen. Would be great access for the wellys coming over.. but geez we get enough of them as it is... !! :dodge:

[Hitcher]

Correction, the GWRC decision does relate to the store as well. It's on leased GWRC land.

[oldrider]

They have been talking about a road tunnel for years, its never going to happen. Would be great access for the wellys coming over.. but geez we get enough of them as it is... !! :dodge:

That's why I referred to the Wainuiomata hill road, the same talk went on for years, then suddenly it was done!

Today you may not be able to appreciate what a steep narrow windy dusty little access road it was to Wainuiomata in the early days! (great on a bike)

Nobody but the most optimistic extroverts ever believed it would change in our lifetimes, now hardly anyone can remember what it was like.

The same thing goes for the rail tunnel under the Rimutakas, hardly anyone remembers what it was like to have to go over the incline by rail now and only the optimists believed that the tunnel would happen in our lifetime too.

Ride it while you have got it, it might be gone sooner than you think! :shit: John.

[Drew]

That's why I referred to the Wainuiomata hill road, the same talk went on for years, then suddenly it was done!

Today you may not be able to appreciate what a steep narrow windy dusty little access road it was to Wainuiomata in the early days! (great on a bike)

Nobody but the most optimistic extroverts ever believed it would change in our lifetimes, now hardly anyone can remember what it was like.

The same thing goes for the rail tunnel under the Rimutakas, hardly anyone remembers what it was like to have to go over the incline by rail now and only the optimists believed that the tunnel would happen in our lifetime too.

Ride it while you have got it, it might be gone sooner than you think! :shit: John.
There is talk of an upgrade to the hill, now that the Kaitoke hill is completed, I'm sure it wont be long till the plans are up for approval, but I really hope it takes years for the funding to come through.

There are better roads than the hill on the other side of it though, so a shorter trip to get to them might be nice too.

[Slingshot]

The same thing goes for the rail tunnel under the Rimutakas, hardly anyone remembers what it was like to have to go over the incline by rail now and only the optimists believed that the tunnel would happen in our lifetime too.

My Grandfather filmed the last train ride over the Rimutaka incline, it's now an historic film in the national archives.


I've heard that they're going to start working to straighten out Muldoon's Corner fairly soon...a quick search revealed this (http://www.transit.govt.nz/content_files/planning/forecast-03-04/plan/11a_Wellington.pdf) and in another document found this paragraph:

The only planned improvement on the Rimutaka Hill Road over the next ten years is at Muldoons corner and although there have been improvements in recent years, particularly the Kaitoke section, the route remains at high risk from natural hazards and seismic events.

I don't tend to buy stuff at the cafe up the top of the takas....I normally sit on the fence, catch up with riders that arrive...meet new riders and generally trash talk. I have on occasion used the facilaties...but wouldn't really miss them if they weren't there.

[Baldyheed]

Think a Buttie wagon would be best at the top. As for the toilet problem, will have a chat with my mate in the stores at Wellington Hospital, and see if there is a surplus of Colostomy bags (unused).

[Madness]

why wern't they able to get a wind turbine up there? Its a good location... hate to see it go to waste.

It's a good & windy location for sure. Problem is that there are much better sites for large scale investment in wind generation, such as Makara, on Welly's south coast.

Any turbine atop the hill would be dedicated to supplying the Café (and maybe lights in the loo if they added some?) as it's uneconomical to attatch the summit to the grid. The location demands something built very strongly, yet small enough to comply with resource consent requirements. Kind of a unique (and expensive) situation.

From memory I think that 2 turbines have been trialled up there by the landlord. This guy holds the lease from GWRC and sublets to the Café proprietors. He's yet to get something to work and it's definitely now too late.

The generator ain't too flash either, just like the water supply. If you find the Caf'e closed on a fine day there's every chance that the genny has packed up or the water tank's are empty. The Café can't open if the loo's don't flush too remember.

[Zapf]

It's a good & windy location for sure. Problem is that there are much better sites for large scale investment in wind generation, such as Makara, on Welly's south coast.

Any turbine atop the hill would be dedicated to supplying the Café (and maybe lights in the loo if they added some?) as it's uneconomical to attatch the summit to the grid. The location demands something built very strongly, yet small enough to comply with resource consent requirements. Kind of a unique (and expensive) situation.

From memory I think that 2 turbines have been trialled up there by the landlord. This guy holds the lease from GWRC and sublets to the Café proprietors. He's yet to get something to work and it's definitely now too late.

The generator ain't too flash either, just like the water supply. If you find the Caf'e closed on a fine day there's every chance that the genny has packed up or the water tank's are empty. The Café can't open if the loo's don't flush too remember.

There are some interesting turbines that could help..

http://www.pacwind.net/

Quote:

• Completely silent
• Completely stable
• Useable power in 3+ mph winds
• Safe in winds up to 100+ mph
• Bird friendly
• Environmentally friendly
• Maintenance Free
• Simple to install
• Built to last a lifetime
• Stackable
• Fully scalable

The newly released Delta Series, which includes the Delta I and Delta II, are truly revolutionary in the wind industry. Since the wind has blown, and man has tried to capture it for energy, it has been widely known that the fixed 3-blade VAWT has great potential for very powerful energy production…unfortunately, it has also been widely known to have two major design flaws. It cannot self start in low wind speeds, nor can it self regulate in mid to high wind speeds; thus, causing greatly reduced efficiency (due to starting and stopping mechanisms), maintenance problems, and self destruction from over spinning. These design flaws were thought to be inherent…until now.

PacWind has ingeniously engineered the solutions to these seemingly inherent problems with their revolutionary fixed 3-blade VAWT designs. These designs self start in very low wind speeds, and at the same time, self regulate rotational speed in mid to high winds; thus, leading to incredibly high power output and efficiency, while still being silent, stable, and safe.

The Delta Series are incredibly power packed in moderate to high wind conditions. In moderate winds, both of the Delta Series designs transition from a drag mode to a nearly pure lift mode, equating to a surge in power output of 4-fold. The 2kw Delta I is ideal for homes, commercial and industrial buildings, boats, remote power, emergency power, battery charging, and grid tie power generation. The much large 10kw Delta II is also ideal for many of these same uses…simply on a larger scale. As with the Alpha Series, the Delta Series designs can also be purchased in our revolutionary tower designs.

[Drum]

How many cups of coffee do you have to sell to recoup the cost of the turbine?

It's a real shame the cafe is closing. I always enjoyed a plunger up there, and the occasional venison burger. And what other cafe plays Rammstein videos for their patrons!

[Colapop]

I reckon that it'll reopen at some stage in the future.
As far as power goes there are a couple of options for power up there, wind is only one. Solar is another. cloud is not the obstacle is was. Photovoltaic cells don't need direct sunlight (per se) to produce power.

[Hitcher]

The Summit Cafe is only really a two-day-a-week business, with the cafe only open sporadically during week days. They guy who has the lease doesn't operate the cafe. Servicing the public dunnies is supposed to be part of the quid pro quo for operating the cafe. This arrangement is "intermittent". Maintaining and servicing the dunnies costs GWRC over $20,000 a year. Providing roadside "conveniences" isn't part of GWRC's core business. There is no city water, sewerage or electricity at the summit.

If anybody has a workable solution, I'm sure GWRC would be prepared to listen to it.

[Madness]

I reckon that it'll reopen at some stage in the future.

If it does, the new owners will have a "blank canvas" to start from, I understand the GWRC has plans involving Buldozers.

[Madness]

Just been up the Hill, starting to get a tad breezy.

The Café has been emptied of almost everything of any value & is deserted.

Oh well.............................................. .

[Hitcher]

The Hill wasn't as windy as I'd expected today. Different story in the Wairarapa though, very blustery on the watertower hill road. But despite the snow-clad hills, it wasn't cold.

[Madness]

New Management (http://www.disturbed.co.nz/cafe.html) has taken over the Summit Café. New Espresso machine has been installed already, watch this space......

[Hitcher]

The lease expires on 31 December.

[Madness]

Six months of frothy coffee is better than nought. As far as I know the Landlord has right of renewal and has not yet been given notice to remove the building.

[Hitcher]

Six months of frothy coffee is better than nought. As far as I know the Landlord has right of renewal and has not yet been given notice to remove the building.

The landlord hasn't got right of renewal.

[Lissa]

Six months of frothy coffee is better than nought. As far as I know the Landlord has right of renewal and has not yet been given notice to remove the building.
Will make sure I pop in for some coffee then!

[Fatjim]

i think the old flaming turd tricks the way to go. Lets get the addresses of the councilors that voted to close the loos and leave some deposits on their doorsteps.