
I was just thinking today about where I would be today if I could chose anywhere in the world. It’s here: Cathedral Cove in New Zealand and it has one of the most bizarre but coolest toilets I’ve ever been into.
The cove looks like something from a film set and it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. The only route in (for most) is a long walk followed by steep steps down into the Cove. It’s wild and secluded and you’d never imagine finding public toilets here but hidden away at the far end of the beach, under the trees, there actually are some. They’re built into a raised wooden building and you climb wooden steps to reach them.
They’re fairly clean but what’s bizarre is that the toilet looks quite normal when you go in but when you look closer you realise it’s just a hole going straight down into a gigantic waste barrel (which is a bit gross) It’s high enough though for that to work with no danger of splash-back!. There’s also no plumbing so there’s only the sea to wash hands afterwards.
These massive barrels sit underneath gathering all the waste and apparently get emptied four times a year by helicopter. Must be quite a job. Can’t imagine the smell and the weight of them. Imagine if one fell and exploded everywhere…