Whangamomona now has cellphone coverage

Forums › New Zealand Mobile and Wireless › Whangamomona now has cellphone coverage

quickymart

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#323091 25-Oct-2025 07:21

...and the "President of the Republic" isn't too happy about it:

https://archive.ph/Kzffe

“No one asked to have cellphone reception, but they built it anyway,” he said.

Before reception improved visitors would talk to him when he went to the pub - the famous Whangamōmona Hotel. Nowadays, that wasn’t necessarily the case.

Recently he was there to watch a rugby test. “There was a fella in front of me playing on his phone. That never happened before.”

Must admit I've never been to this place nor had any inclination to visit - what's it like? It sounds like it's behind the times somewhat. Good to see about the road there being fully sealed though.

His comment reminds me a bit of those people in Haast a few years ago who didn't want coverage there either because they liked being isolated and cut off from the rest of the world 🤷‍♂️

Goosey

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#3427831 25-Oct-2025 07:54

Click bait somewhat, the republican president didn’t like it, but everyone else in the article just got on with life and spoke about how the now sealed highway is promising…

id say a whole lot people will welcome connectivity.

Behodar

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#3427833 25-Oct-2025 07:59

Is the tower within the Republic, or do they need to pay roaming charges? 😁

MikeB4

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#3427835 25-Oct-2025 08:09

I have got to go there at sometime. It seems a cool place

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

Stu

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#3427838 25-Oct-2025 08:39

It is a pretty cool place. The pub is about all that's there. Old NZ.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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#3427901 25-Oct-2025 12:15

Forgotten World Adventures runs those golf-cart type vehicles on the railway line through there, I recall seeing some ads recently with the line “enjoy no cellphone coverage”

coffeebaron

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#3427919 25-Oct-2025 15:21

Now days you really need to find an underground cave with no mobile and no starlink coverage:)

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Technofreak

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#3428325 27-Oct-2025 21:52

Goosey:

Click bait somewhat, the republican president didn’t like it, but everyone else in the article just got on with life and spoke about how the now sealed highway is promising…

id say a whole lot people will welcome connectivity.

It's his job not to like it.

It's part of the persona of beng the President of the Republic of Whangamomona. You have to cultivate the back blocks independant image.

Considering one year they elected a sheep as President I don't think anyone in the Whanga area takes the President too seriously including the President himself.

It's a pretty cool spot. Many years ago we used to stop at the pub on our way home from work have a beer and a game of pool.

I believe it used to be the case where a local might call in for a beer and serve themselves leaving the money on the counter if the publican was busy elsewhere on the premises.

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#3428326 27-Oct-2025 21:54

Actually when I visited the pub a number of years ago they had a Vodafone Sure Signal providing mobile coverage for customers

Earbanean

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#3428369 28-Oct-2025 09:49

Do we need international roaming enabled to use our phones there?

Linux

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#3428371 28-Oct-2025 09:52

Earbanean:

Do we need international roaming enabled to use our phones there?

@Earbanean This is a joke? Please tell me it is

wellygary

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#3428386 28-Oct-2025 11:47

Pretty sure that even before this was switched on there were plenty of Starlink terminals running Wifi with Wifi calling being slaved off them.

If the pub owner wants to ban phones in his pub, he's quite within his right to do so, but I suspect the locals might have a different opinion on this...

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Technofreak

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#3428396 28-Oct-2025 12:12

wellygary:

Pretty sure that even before this was switched on there were plenty of Starlink terminals running Wifi with Wifi calling being slaved off them.

If the pub owner wants to ban phones in his pub, he's quite within his right to do so, but I suspect the locals might have a different opinion on this...

I think you'll find the quote from the President was more in jest than seriousness.

I don't think the pub owner has banned phones, nothing in that article says that.

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Earbanean

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#3429416 31-Oct-2025 08:19

Linux:

Earbanean:

Do we need international roaming enabled to use our phones there?

@Earbanean This is a joke? Please tell me it is

Well it's just that I can't see any eSIMs available. I usually use Nomad for that, but they don't list Whangamomona. In that case, I'd normally just get a local physical SIM on arrival at the airport, but with a a land crossing more likely here, it could be hard to find a suitable kiosk.

wellygary

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#3429420 31-Oct-2025 08:49

Earbanean:

Well it's just that I can't see any eSIMs available. I usually use Nomad for that, but they don't list Whangamomona. In that case, I'd normally just get a local physical SIM on arrival at the airport, but with a a land crossing more likely here, it could be hard to find a suitable kiosk.

From the Original post, pretty sure the Republic's President will be able to tell you "where to go" 😃

allan

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#3429604 31-Oct-2025 13:11

Some 10 years ago we did the Forgotten World 2-day golf cart rail trip from Stratford through to Taumarunui with an overnight stay at the Whangamomona pub. Yes it was a bit like stepping back in time and I recall the Stratford base got a phone call (landline obviously) from the pub asking them to bring some milk over, so our cart was duly loaded up with several 2L containers of milk, in addition to the crate of bread we were already transporting. The pub bar was mainly all locals with lots of quad-bikes, utes and dogs and gumboots left outside. All very friendly though. The rail cart trip was incredibly enjoyable and I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to explore something a little different. You've got to like tunnels though, as there 24 of them along the line.

I recall doing the New Plymouth to Taumaranui railcar trip with my Dad back in the late 1970's, shortly before the service was withdrawn. SH43 (The Forgotten World Highway) was unsealed in many places back then and the locals used the railcar like a personalised bus service with many stops made at home-made platforms in the middle of nowhere. The rail line's final demise came after a fatal freight train derailment in 2002 and another in 2009 which badly damaged a long section of track. Forgotten World Adventures leased the line and began their rail cart operation in 2012.