Unusual
destinations to visit in New Zealand
For
lovers of the more unusual spots, New Zealand certainly has its fair share
of weird and wonderful places to visit, from the tragedy of Farewell Spit,
to the strange Devil’s Bath, artistic toilets and so much more between. Safe to say, there are plenty of unusual activities in New Zealand.
Travelling
around both North and South Island is made really convenient with Spaceships
Rentals offering excellent campervans to travel from weird destination
to unusual location. Versatile, full of fun and fuel efficient, these
vehicles are the ideal choice and while driving around, here are just a
few examples of strange and unique destinations to choose from.
Onetahua
– Farewell Spit
Let’s
head first to northern tip of New Zealand's South Island to visit Farewell
Spit. Named “Onetahua” in the native language, this fascinating bit of
geography holds a tragic tale, as scores of whales have run aground here
over the years. In fact since records started to be kept, around 680 whales
have seemingly committed suicide by throwing themselves on Farewell Spit.
Just
this year, around 200 whales have beached themselves on the sand at this
spot, although activists did manage to float many of them back out to sea.
While
the tale is tragic, the scenery and the sandy beaches in this remote and
lovely nature reserve (pictured above and right) are pretty impressive. |
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Wai-O-Tapu
– Devil’s Bath
Next we
head to the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island and visit
Rotorua and the fascinating geothermal phenomenon known as Wai-O-Tapu or
Devil’s Bath.
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Looking
at its rather eye-catching lurid green colour, you would be forgiven for
thinking the sulphur lake was a radioactive dump site. However this
weird and wonderful colour is completely natural.
Sitting
in a slight depression probably caused by an eruption underground, you
can’t actually get down to the rather smelling water below (probably a
good thing as you really wouldn’t want to swim there!), but it does look
pretty impressive when viewed from above.
The
lurid green colour is apparently caused by sulphur (hence the smell!) rising
to the surface and floating there.
While
the origins of the satanic name are unknown, some feel that it would not
be surprising at all to see the King of Hell himself rising from the unusual
and still green water. |
| Photo:
CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Chris
Counsell |
|
Hundertwasser
Toilets
One would
not normally think of public toilets as being an artistic tourist attraction.
However, the Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa, New Zealand most definitely
are just that, and are probably the world's most architecturally important
public bathroom anywhere in the world.
This
fascinating destination is the creation of a world famous artist, Friedensreich
Hundertwasser, who was born in Vienna, Austria. Hundertwasser
spent his final years in Kawakawa and the facilities apparently “opened
for business” (excuse the pun) back in 1999. Regrettably Hundertwasser
passed away in 2000 while sailing on the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, making
this his final project.
The
design consists of multi-coloured tile collages, covered in the artist’s
signature and are similar to other architectural works by the artist.
In the concrete itself there are recycled tiles and bottles embedded in
the design to create a psychedelic appearance. There are the normal men
and women’s toilet stalls but right in the centre can be found a living
tree, growing up through the roof of the toilets where it blends with grasses
growing up there.
This
final creation by a very creative artist is amazing to see and the fact
that the bathrooms are fully operational only adds to the atmosphere -
what a way to go!
In
conclusion, when taking to the road in New Zealand, there are many interesting
and unusual sights to see, making a visitor wish to return to this fascinating
country over and over again.
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