Mayor of Taupō David Trewavas (left) with the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Nice, France, in September. Photo / Supplied
Mayor of Taupō David Trewavas (left) with the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Nice, France, in September. Photo / Supplied
Taupō may welcome a rich and powerful guest for next year's Ironman World Championship with an official invitation in transit to the King of Bahrain.
With a personal net worth of more than NZ$7 billion, His Majesty Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has been courted to visit the lakeside Waikatotown personally by Taupō Mayor David Trewavas.
Trewavas met King Khalifa in Nice, France, in September at the World 70.3 [half] Ironman Championships, and floated the idea of attending the 2020 event to him.
The point of reference for the King's interest in ironman is his son, Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is an accomplished triathlete.
Shaikh Khalifa is a member of the Bahrain National Endurance Team, the 2018 Ironman World Champion in the Military Division, and the president of the Bahrain Olympic Committee.
"At the Nice event I met the King Khalifa and I extended him an invitation to New Zealand because of his interest in the World Ironman event," Trewavas said.
"He was very appreciative of it and asked if his office could be in touch with my office.
Cameron Brown winning the 2017 Taupō Ironman. Photo / File
"His son the prince is an accomplished athlete himself - so that's why the interest is there. The were both together in Nice, so obviously it's a quite possibility his son will come, too."
The Taupō Mayor's office has been in correspondence with James Munro, the New Zealand ambassador in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, about the visit and is hopeful it will be possible.
If the King's visit does eventuate, Trewavas points out there will be no shortage of luxury accommodation for him and his typical entourage of about 70 security personnel.
The Taupō Mayor suggests the "exclusive, world-renowned" Huka Lodge as an obvious first choice, located on 17 acres of manicured grounds facing onto the Waikato River, just upstream from Huka Falls.
A Huka Lodge bedroom looking out on to the Waikato River.
Huka Lodge offers private trout fishing, white water rafting, whisky tasting, tennis, petanque and croquet, yoga, massage, manicure and beauty treatments.
Another luxury accommodation in the area Trewavas suggested is Poronui Sporting Lodge.
Located in the Taharua Valley, the Poronui estate offers extensive fly fishing locations, hunting, bee keeping, spa, archery, horse riding, mountain biking and a variety of hikes through 6000 acres of native beech forest populated with endangered species.
Possible activities the King might get a thrill out of are the Huka Falls jet boat, and river rafting on the "mighty" Tongariro River.
Trewavas also highlighted the potential for increased tourism and trade with Bahrain by a possible visit from their royal family.
He cited 30 per cent of Taupō's GDP is generated by tourism - equating to $780 million.
"We don't have a lot of visitors from the Middle East - they would certainly be welcome," he said.
In 2018, New Zealand exported $60 million in goods to Bahrain and Trewavas is keen to increase that.
"We've got a local dairy factory here, Miraka, so we would welcome any trade opportunities that would come from the visit as well."
As far as potential funding of the visit, Trewavas said it would have to be "worked out between parties" after being confirmed.
Huka Falls River Cruise at the base of Huka Falls.
US talk show host Stephen Colbert's visit to New Zealand in October was revealed to have cost taxpayers $100,000 - but Tourism NZ said they expect a $5 million return on investment.
The 2020 Taupō Ironman 70.3 World Championships will run on November 28-29 and include competitors from 117 countries. The event will be funded by NZ Major Events.
"Taupō is the home of New Zealand Ironman, so it's a natural topography of the land lends itself beautifully towards a triathlon type of event," Trewavas said.
