Everybody’s Famous for Something…

Any of you that have spent enough time around Dave have heard him tell you how his town, Easton, MA, was once the ‘Shovel Capital of the World’, and how the trans-continental railroad was built with Ames shovels made in his home town.  Your towns are probably famous for something like that, too.  (Amy says Paxton might be famous for its shoe cobblers… but I think we can all agree that shovels are much cooler than cobblers). 

Here in New Zealand it is no different… Every little town we pass through claims to be the global capital for something.  The difference here is that each town builds a giant statue on the main road into town paying homage to its obscure claim-to-fame.  There were the relatively simple and somewhat uninteresting ones, like Hunterville, the Hunter Dog Capital of the World… and Ross with its goldminer… but then there were the truly inspired towns, like our favorites, Taihape, Tekuiti, and Kawakawa.  Tekuiti is the Sheep-Shearing Capital of the World, complete with its annual ‘Running of the Sheep’ event.  Our only regret is that we hadn’t yet started our collection of ridiculous town monuments when we drove through Tekuiti, so we have no photo of the giant larger-than-life statue of the farmer shearing the sheep in the middle of the town square.   

Some towns claim fame for their animals...



Some are famous for their pasts...



We did not make that mistake again when we arrived in Taihape, the gumboot capital of the world.  We had our camera at the ready when we cruised into town and were greeted by a giant statue of a multi-colored gumboot!  Unfortunately, we were a few days too early for the celebration of National Gumboot Day.   

Literally, missed it by a day:(



How could you not fall in love with the world gumboot capital?

   

Art meets public sanitation in the town of Kawakawa



Kawakawa’s claim to fame is that it has, without any doubt, the world’s most beautiful (and most famous) public toilets.  Designed by the ‘world-famous’ Swiss artist/philosopher/conservationist Hunterwasser, who (according to the lady in the shop that pays homage to all of his works), settled in Kawakawa because it was the only town he’d found that had a soul. She really was his number-one fan… we think maybe she was his daughter or something.  She went on to tell us how Hunterwasser had designed the New Zealand flag… not the one they use, mind you… but the one they rejected and might someday use.  He also designed the national museum… not the design they ultimately chose, mind you… but a fine design nonetheless.  He also designed a collection of stamps for the United Nations… which, last I checked, doesn’t have a postal service.  So, you can imagine his joy when the town of Kawakawa asked him to design their public toilets… and actually built to his design.  No wonder he thought Kawakawa had a soul! 

World's most beautiful place for a pit stop

They seriously are the most amazing public toilets you’ve ever seen.  Beautiful works of art, and quite functional as well.  It’s the only place where people don’t look at you funny when you run to get your camera before going to use the toilet.  Even Adam Goodrich, who refuses to participate in any conversations involving bodily functions, would want to talk about his experience in these bathrooms. 

And, in an incredible bit of good fortune, both Amy and Dave found themselves in need of a public toilet right around the time they were driving through Kawakawa.  But honestly, having now experienced those toilets, they’d be well worth the drive (and the wait), even if you were a few hundred kilometers away.  I guess everybody has to be famous for something…