Ohakune Kindergarten

11/08/2026

Kindergarten is open tomorrow for all enrolled children. Some changes will happen to ensure safe water usage. Please see Storypark or more information

11/08/2026

Important information. Leaflets are being dropped of to each household.

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Why do you need to boil water AFTER a water main break?

You must boil water after a water main break because a drop in water pressure allows outside dirt, groundwater, bacteria, and germs to suck into the cracked pipes.

Normal high pressure pushes clean water out. When a pipe breaks or shuts off, pressure drops, pulling surrounding mud and bacteria inside.

Boiling kills these dangerous bugs to keep you from getting sick.

To be safe, do not use unboiled tap water to brush teeth or wash food.

Boil water for three days after water is restored.

(You do not need to use boiled water for handwashing but do use soap).

10/08/2026

Kia ora, as many of you will be aware water is now off until Tuesday 5pm. Please disregard the previous post. Kindergarten will be closed Tuesday 11th August. Post from Ruapehu Council attached.

We are very sorry for this. Please see Storypark for more information.

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Ruapehu District Council has advised that another 24 hours will be needed to bring the Ohakune water network safely back online.

Council had earlier been confident that water would be restored by 5pm today. However, further technical analysis found that repressurising the raw water pipeline too quickly could damage it and cause even longer delays.

Taking the pipeline from no flow to full flow too quickly risks fracturing the line. A slower, controlled approach is therefore needed to protect the repaired infrastructure and safely restore the town’s water supply.

Council’s water services contractor, Veolia, has confirmed that the airlock affecting the raw water pipeline has been resolved.

Additional water tankers have also been brought in to help speed up the process as much as safely possible.

Council recognises how difficult and disruptive the ongoing outage is for residents and businesses.

“This has been an extremely technical and challenging situation. We have been working to keep the community fully informed as new information becomes available, but the situation and expected restoration time have continued to evolve as work has progressed.

We thank everyone for their patience, understanding and cooperation while we work to restore the water supply safely and avoid any further delays.

Water is now expected to be restored by approximately 5pm tomorrow, Tuesday 11 August. Council will continue to provide updates as work progresses.

EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLIES AND TOILETS
Emergency water supplies remain available from Ruapehu District Council’s office at 37 Ayr St. People who have collected water bottles previously can return and reuse water bottles at this same location.

Port-a-loos are located at the council Office at 37 Ayr St; Thames Street opposite the Powderhorn; Goldfinch Street / Shannon Street; and the rear carpark of the Ohakune i-SITE.

We are contacting schools to let them know about this situation. We expect schools will make the decision to close, but that is their decision to make.

END

09/08/2026

Important notice:

Please be advised that Ohakune Kindergarten will be closed tomorrow, Monday 10 August due to the failure in the local water supply mains.

The health, safety, and hygiene of our tamariki and staff are our top priorities.

Under Ministry of Education guidelines, we cannot legally operate the Kindergarten without fully functioning bathroom amenities, flushing toilets, and safe running water.

Take care everyone and hopefully this is resolved quickly.

08/08/2026

Morena whānau,

Just wanting to be sure all our whānau are aware of this serious situation. Hopefully things will improve overnight as some of the weekend visitors head home.

We will keep you updated if we need to make any changes tomorrow via here and Storypark.

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UPDATE SUN 9 AUG - 11.30AM
Ohakune residents are asked to continue to conserve water
Current estimates are that water supplies will not be restored until late tomorrow afternoon around 5pm
Water may start to flow before then but it will not be potable
As a precaution boil any tap water until further notice
Emergency water and toilets are available at locations across Ohakune.

WATER COLLECTION POINTS
Water Tanker at Council office on Ayr St
⦁ Thames Street – opposite the Powderhorn
⦁ Goldfinch Street / Shannon Street
⦁ Ruapehu District Council Office – 38 Ayr Street
⦁ Rear carpark of the Ōhakune i-SITE
⦁ Clyde Street carpark – opposite the restaurants
⦁ Moore Street – outside TOP 10 Holiday Park
Please keep empty 5L bottles and refill from the water tanker

EMERGENCY PORT-A-LOO LOCATIONS
Thames Street – opposite the Powderhorn
⦁ Goldfinch Street / Shannon Street
⦁ Ruapehu District Council Office – 38 Ayr Street
⦁ Rear carpark of the Ōhakune i-SITE

Please continue to conserve water and only take what you reasonably require so supplies remain available to those who need them.

*END*

UPDATE SUN 9 AUG - 9AM
Ohakune residents and visitors are asked to continue conserving water. Reservoir levels remain low. Continued conservation is essential while the water supply system stabilises and reservoir storage progressively recovers.

🚫 Please do not flush household toilets. Port-a-loos are being installed around the township for public use.

DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES
Potable water is available from a tanker outside the Council office on Ayr Street. Please bring your own containers.
Five-litre bottles of drinking water have also been distributed around the township at:

• Central Ohakune
• The Tavern area
• TOP 10 Holiday Park
• Peaks Motor Lodge
• Kings Hotel
• Powderkeg
• Turoa Village

PORT-A-LOOS
Port-a-loos are being set up at:
1. The reserve opposite the Powderkeg
2. By the swing bridge
3. The reserve opposite the Council office on Ayr Street
4. Next to the i-SITE

Please use these facilities and avoid flushing your toilet at home.

Thank you for continuing to conserve water while the reservoir recovers.

*END*

💧 OHAKUNE CONSERVE WATER NOTICE – PLEASE CONSERVE WATER NOW 💧
Sat 8 Aug - 6pm: Ohakune residents and visitors are asked to make every effort to conserve water.

Damage from the recent earthquake caused a major break in the buried raw water pipeline supplying the Water Treatment Plant. Because the damaged pipe was underground, the break took time to become apparent and was difficult to repair.

Repairs are now complete. However, with large numbers of people in town, the water reservoir has dropped to just 12%.

The treatment plant is struggling to rebuild reservoir levels while meeting current demand, creating a risk that Ohakune could run out of water.

Please reduce all non-essential water use immediately.

🚰 EMERGENCY DRINKING WATER

A water tanker is located outside Council’s Ohakune office on Ayr Street. Please bring your own containers.

Council is also arranging for 5-litre bottles of drinking water to be available shortly from the same location.

Thank you for helping conserve Ohakune’s water supply.

15/04/2026

Yesterday we had a special Sri Lankan New Year celebration lead by one of our whānau who wanted to share this significant event with our kindergarten whānau.

We were shown and engaged in some very important rituals, such as boiling and overflowing coconut milk to bring good luck for the year, eating Kiribath (the traditional first food for the year) and some traditional games like pin the eye on the elephant. We ended with a piñata (traditionally clay pots) with a surprise for the tamariki.

It was a very special time of celebration and wish wish our family a very healthy and prosperous year. Thank you so much Ruwani for allowing us to be part of this very important time for you and your pawula (family).

21/02/2026

It was wonderful to have Pare and Vicky visit us from the National Army Museum Te Mata Toa this week. They spoke with us about Purple Poppy Day, which will be held on Tuesday 24th February at the museum. This special day remembers the animals who served in wartime and honours the important roles they played. There will also be current serving animals present at the museum.

Our tamariki listened carefully to stories about the different animals who helped during the war and learned about the brave and important jobs they did to protect our soldiers. They discovered how animals such as horses, cats, chickens, donkeys, dogs, and carrier pigeons supported troops by carrying messages, transporting supplies, and providing comfort.

After the visit, the tamariki enjoyed making their very own purple poppies to wear and take home. It was a meaningful and creative way to remember the animals who served and to show our respect for their contribution.

15/02/2026

Morning whanau, Ohakune kindergarten is closed today due to the weather conditions, please stay home.

Send a message to learn more

15/01/2026

What a beautiful start to 2026 we’ve had at kindy. Today we were lucky to welcome Megan from Hato Hone e Akoranga Hapori | St John Community Education. Megan visited to talk with the children about ambulance services, how St John helps our community, and the tools they may use when attending a call.

The tamariki had a wonderful hands-on experience — they were wrapped in bandages, listened to their hearts using a stethoscope, and even tried a pulse oximeter on their finger. There was lots of curiosity, learning, and excitement throughout the session.

St John in Schools, thank you for providing our tamariki with such a valuable and engaging learning opportunity.

02/12/2025

What a fantastic Term 4 we’ve had so far—thanks to our incredible community, local businesses, and the support of our wonderful kindergarten whānau. This year, our fundraising efforts were focused on installing a new sunshade to protect our tamariki while they play outside, and we were absolutely delighted with the support and enthusiasm shown throughout the process. We were also fortunate to receive a $1,000 grant from The Lines Company to help make this project possible.

The tamariki have been absolutely loving their new sunshade, and we’ve already noticed an increase in play and engagement in this space since it was installed.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported Ohakune Kindergarten in any way—whether big or small. Your contributions truly make a difference.