Kawakawa New Zealand May Be Blushing From Flushing

Travel attractions don’t get much quirkier than this. Perhaps the weirdest vacation tour you’ll visit in New Zealand can be found at Kawakawa.

A peculiar New Zealand vacation destination’s reputation for Hundertwasser toilets – reputedly the “best in the world” – is a rather strange way for this bay of islands touring spot to go down the tubes of travel trivia. Yet this is Kawakawa’s claim to fame, as evidenced by Bathroom Diaries’ website (www.bathroomdiaries.com).

The mention lists the public restrooms in the center of Kawakawa New Zealand as “gorgeous” and “creative,” as well as among the word’s first-rate toilets.

It turns out the toilets were designed by a renowned Austrian architect, painter, and printmaker and feature colorful “smashed tiles and glass in curves and spirals reminiscent of Gaudi” with bottles embedded in the wall that allow natural light to enter the building, which is capped by a grass roof.

Besides this blushing, flushing fame, Kawakawa is known as Train Town of the North and is home to the now defunct Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, which journeyed the 45 minute ride between there and Opua daily. Another reason to visit Kawakawa is the extensive range of New Zealand outdoor activities to be had at the nearby Kawiti Glow Worm Caves of Waiomio.

However, there seems to be no doubt this northern New Zealand small town’s real attraction, for better or worse, it its toilets. The town name has no bearing on its flushing existence. Rather, it refers to a slightly sour Maori medicinal plant, one of several native plants that thrives year round in low lying areas.

The town pays homage to the toilet with an impressive gallery quality display in an unorthodox public bathroom with museum status. From its streetfront façade, the building looks more like the entrance to a Polynesian restaurant or bar. Grass can be seen growing atop Hundertwasser Toilet, along with an uncannily Gaudiesque golden orbs.

The men’s room Toilet #2 displays a funky broken wall of black and white tiles which spill onto the floor. A single wooden toilet seat covering a stainless commode, high mounted white tank, utilitarian stainless sink, odd shaped bar grabs and irregular hanging grey wall partitions complete the look.

Toilet #2 features a brick barrier wall and cobblestone floor with bottles embedded in concrete and bottle shaped posts. Men’s room Toilet #1 carries on a blend of the same bottle theme, illuminated by natural light, and the black and white tile with colorful trim at the point where it breaks in an irregular manner from the earthtoned wall above it.

An interesting wine bottle window is another unique feature, as well as copper handwork, cobblestone flooring, individual sculptures, and a living tree incorporated into the structure.

Artist Frederick Hundertwasser relocated to Kawakawa, where he made his public art creation quite the spectacle of New Zealand vacation tourism.