Ohakune
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Ohakune is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Tongariro National Park, close to the southwestern slopes of the active volcano Mount Ruapehu. The town is 70 kilometres northeast of Wanganui, and 25 kilometres west of Waiouru.
[edit] Southern Entrance
On the eastern edge of the town is a large orange carrot, which celebrates the areas growing of a great number of carrots. This statue is the world's largest carrot[1].
[edit] Transportation
State Highway 49 runs through the town, as does the North Island Main Trunk Railway. From 18 December 1917 until 1 January 1968, Ohakune was also the junction for the Raetihi Branch, a branch line railway to Raetihi. A truss bridge formerly used by this branch still stands near the big carrot.
Seventeen kilometres to the east of the town is the small settlement of Tangiwai, which on December 24, 1953 was the site on the North Island Main Trunk Railway of New Zealand's worst railway accident, resulting in the loss of 151 lives.
[edit] Town Activities
It is a rural service town and a base for skiers using the Turoa skifield. The town's population is 1293 (2001 census).
- Accommodation
- Snow Ski-ing
- Mountain tramping
- Bushwalking
Ohakune is the planned site for the inaugural Big Mountain Short Film Festival in October 2006.
 The Overlander passenger train stops: (North Island Main Trunk Railway) |
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| Auckland (Britomart) | Middlemore | Papakura | Pukekohe | Hamilton | Otorohanga | Te Kuiti | Taumarunui | National Park | Ohakune | Marton | Feilding | Palmerston North | Levin | Paraparaumu | Porirua | Wellington (Railway Station) | |
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