Mountaineers Childcare and Education Centre is a country childcare centre tucked down a long driveway in the village of Pirongia, near Te Awamutu, at 1375 McClure Street. It is licensed for 50 children aged 0 to 6, and it is open Monday to Friday from 7:15am to 6pm. The centre has two rooms, Rūma Kakepuku for under 2s and Rūma Pirongia for over 2s, and both are named after the maunga that the playground faces.
The grounds have wide open green areas, friendly chickens and visiting animals. Children dig in the garden, play in the sandpit and mud kitchen, splash in the water and compost and grow food. The centre says it reduces, reuses and recycles, grows some of its own kai and avoids preservatives and excess packaging. It says 80 to 99 percent of its teaching team are qualified, and that families are welcome to spend time at the centre with their child.