CSB - Angela McCoubrie -Waimarino A & P show president

Organisers of the Waimarino A & P Show are anticipating the Desert Road shutdown will bring even more people flocking through its gates.

The two-month closure of State Highway 1 on the central plateau is turning out to be a real turnaround for businesses in the township of Ohakune.

Raetihi, on State Highway 4, around 10 minutes from Ohakune, is just along the road from the busy SH1 detour.

Raetihi hosts its biggest annual agricultural and pastoral day at the Waimarino Show Grounds, west of Ohakune on the third Saturday of February each year.