If we thought for a minute we could take vacation from our profession as we travel, we were wrong. Nowhere was this more evident than this morning in Kawakawa, when we walked into…public toilets - our excitement reaching that of school kids getting into a candy shop. Designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser in 1899, the small enclosure, sandwiched by a bank on one side and a restaurant on the other, stands out from the gloomy neighbors like a happy kid on the block. Outside, colorful assortment of glazed tile in organic shapes stacked as columns, stemming from the ground and pulling parts of the pavement with them, supports vegetated roof formed around centrally located tree. Tiled exterior flooring flows inside, where edges of horizontal and vertical surface melt into one another forming a maze of recycled and reused materials - sustainable architecture at its best. We get several curious looks as we photograph every possible detail, fascinated with the use of glass bottles and morphing tile work masking sewage line, among other ingenious, if slightly idiosyncratic, applications. An architectural highlight of the month, it’s a design on sugar rush that just made us happy washing our dirty limbs…and reminded us about our fixation for life.
Following SH10 north we stop at several beaches along east coast, arriving late afternoon at Cape Reinga dressed in concrete clouds and rain. Shortly after scanning the grounds at the very end of North Island, we decide on walking parts of Coastal Track tomorrow and spend the rest of the day by the rugged coastline beach nearby. Staring into the waters where Tasman Sea meets Pacific Ocean, it’s hard to believe our journey has come to an end - it seems as if we just left our apartment in Chicago, over packed but excited for the unknown. With its end-of-the-world aura, Cape Reinga fittingly sums up five months of our travels, plans for another venture already lurking at the back of our minds.
Phantasmagoric Hundertwasser in Kawakawa
Following SH10 north we stop at several beaches along east coast, arriving late afternoon at Cape Reinga dressed in concrete clouds and rain. Shortly after scanning the grounds at the very end of North Island, we decide on walking parts of Coastal Track tomorrow and spend the rest of the day by the rugged coastline beach nearby. Staring into the waters where Tasman Sea meets Pacific Ocean, it’s hard to believe our journey has come to an end - it seems as if we just left our apartment in Chicago, over packed but excited for the unknown. With its end-of-the-world aura, Cape Reinga fittingly sums up five months of our travels, plans for another venture already lurking at the back of our minds.
Doubtless Bay
Parked for the night at Cape Reinga
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