No creche at Turoa this year

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 242, 10 May 1988, Page 12

No creche at Turoa this year

By

Teresa

O'Connor

No creche facilities will be offered at Turoa skifield this year. The ski-hire operation is moving into the old creche to make room for a bigger cafeteria. Turoa's marketing manager, Andy Chapman, says the decision to close the creche was influenced by past demand for the service. Last season, most families seemed to make alternative arrangements for their pre-schoolers, either not bringing them at all or leaving them with friends while they asked. "The creche has not proved as desirable to skiers as we first thought it would - the

numbers just were not there to keep it going." However, Mr Chapman sees this as an opportunity for an alternative creche to be organised in Ohakune town. He says that in previous years a babysitting service has been offered by private homes, but the possibility of a more formal daycare centre in Ohakune should be considered. Head teacher at Ohakune's Free Kindergarten, Vera Donnelly, says the mountain environment is too hostile for pre-schoolers. "A really good daycare centre that caters both for skiers and for residents in Ohakune should be built."