Holiday information 2019/2020

There's a lot to know about what's happening in the Taupō District over the 2019/20 festive season, so here is some information you might find useful. From everybody at Taupō District Council, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Council office hours over the festive season

If you need to contact the council at any time, you can call 0800 ASK TDC (0800 275 832). This is a 24/7 service.

During office hours, please call the phone numbers below.

Taupō main office, 46 Horomatangi Street, Taupō. Ph +64 7 376 0899.

Turangi office, Town Centre, Turangi. Ph +64 7 386 7017.

Mangakino office, Civic Centre, Rangatira Drive, Mangakino. Ph +64 7 8828191.

*Please see our Contact Us page for more information, including our normal opening hours for each of our office locations.

Kerbside collections

Please have your rubbish and recycling kerbside by 7.30am on the day of collection. Remember, only plastic types 1 and 2 can now be recycled - all other plastic goes in the rubbish. Please flatten cardboard boxes and remove lids from washed plastic bottles to help our hardworking contractors.

Remember it’s a super busy time for our contractors with large volumes of rubbish and recycling to pick up over the holiday period, especially cardboard! Extra trucks and staff will be working - you may see two trucks picking up your recycling - but collections are likely to run later in the day than usual. Thanks for your patience!

Christmas week

This year Christmas falls on a Wednesday, which means there will be changes to kerbside collections during that week, as shown in the table below.

New Year's week

Normal kerbside collections will resume from Monday, December 30 so there are no changes to kerbside collections over the New Year period.

To check the collection day for your area and find out more about what can be recycled visit our rubbish and recycling pages.

Landfill and Transfer Stations

Landfill, resource recovery centres and transfer stations will have normal operating hours except for Christmas Day when all facilities will be closed.

Find out more about our refuse and recycling services.

Sprinkler restrictions

Every drop counts - please use sprinklers on your garden and lawn on alternate days only.

As the district fills up with visitors and temperatures rise, demand for water increases dramatically. Last year, we saw an increase in demand of 50 percent across the district in January and we are expecting a similar increase this year, so we are asking residents to act now to reduce demand.

Please only water your garden and lawn every second day, using the odds and evens system based on your street address. That means if your address ends in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 you can use sprinklers on even calendar days, if your address ends in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9, you can water on odd calendar days. This applies to fixed sprinklers only. Hand held hoses can be used at any time.

Find out more about the water restrictions.

Libraries and Museum

Taupō District Libraries

All Taupō District Libraries are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and January 2.

On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, Taupō Library and Turangi Library will close at the earlier time of 3pm.

Normal opening hours apply on all other days.

View the opening hours for Taupo District Libraries.

Taupō Museum

Taupō Museum is closed on Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve the museum will close at the earlier time of 3pm.

Normal opening hours of 10am to 4.30pm apply on all other days.

Find out more about what's happening at Taupo Museum

Leisure and recreation facilities

AC Baths and Turtle Pools Turangi

The AC Baths and Turtle Pools Turangi will be open every day throughout the holiday period apart from Christmas Day. Opening hours will be reduced slightly on some days during the festive season.

View the opening hours for the AC Baths.
View the opening hours for the Turtle Pools.

Mangakino Community Pool

The Mangakino Community Pool is open during the school holidays (weather permitting). During this period, the pool is open daily between 12.30pm and 4.30pm, except for Christmas Day when the pool is closed.

Find out more about the Mangakino Community Pool.

Indoor Rockwall

Opening hours for the Rockwall vary daily over the holiday period.

View the opening hours for the Rockwall in December 2019 and January 2020.

Fitness Studio

The Fitness Studio will be open every day throughout the holiday period apart from Christmas Day. Opening hours will be reduced slightly on some days during the festive season.

Group fitness classes and aqua classes finish for the year on Friday, December 13 and classes will resume in the New Year on Monday, January 6, 2020.

View the Fitness Studio opening hours and class timetable.

Other useful information

Animal management and noise control

Regulatory services, like animal management and noise control, will be available over the Christmas period. They can be contacted through the regular after hours phone service on 07 376 0899 or 0800 ASKTDC.

Dog exercise areas

A handy map of dog exercise areas and dog restricted areas is available here.

Alcohol ban
We want you to have fun this New Year period, but it's important to do it safely and be responsible. Over the New Year period from 12 noon December 27 until 7am January 4 there is an alcohol ban which covers Taupō and Turangi Town Centres, all lakefront reserve areas and Hipaptua Reserve (Reid's Farm).

Please also be aware the Otumuheke Stream bathing area in Spa Thermal Park has a year-round alcohol ban 24/7.

View alcohol ban details and maps

LIMs
Please be aware LIMs will not be issued between December 20, 2019 and January 10, 2020. These dates are considered non-working days under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

Find out more about applying for a LIM

New Year's Eve Big Bang event

Welcome in 2020 in style with a family friendly movie, music, activities and two fireworks displays. Taupo's Big Bang Fireworks Display is fun for the whole whanau! Admission is free.

Find out more about events in the Taupo District.