The Singing Toilets of Rawene

Rawene is a small historic waterfront town of 400 people. It is a town that boasts of many things: Te Hawera, one of the oldest Maori fishing canoes; the old Clendon House, constructed as part of the original European settlment there; a boardwalk through a mangrove swamp and, not to be missed, the 'Singing Toilets'.

Naturally we were curious. The self standing structure labeled "Toilets" looked ordinary enough; once inside, however, we were whisked from the 'real' world into the future. Push a red button to close the electronic sliding door. Then relax to the sounds of soft piano music, intended perhaps to give nature a soothing hand. Press the white button on the wall to dispense toilet paper electronically doled out in four square increments. The flush are also electronic and the hand dryer. Select the green button by the door, the music stops and the door panel slides back to usher you once again into the present.

Outside of each door red LEDs light to indicate whether the unit is vacant, engaged, out-of-order or in the process of self-cleaning. What futurist toilet could be without a self-cleaning feature? Each of the two toilets is equipped with an automatic sprinkler which periodically sprays down the bathroom. Apparently I had entered just after such a wash-down; everything from the walls to the mirror to the floor were drenched. (I wonder if the self-cleaning Enterprise spaceship operates the same way?)

In order to ward off potential vandals, the cleaning sprayer goes off if the door remain closed for too long - 'too long' being anyone's guess. Thinking of taking in your favorite magazine? Set your stop watch and bring an umbrella.

Once we experienced this modern lavatory wonder ourselves, we watched as others discovered the 'secret' behind the closed doors. Women usually approached with caution. As the electronic door automatically opened to invite them in, they threw their hands to their face and reeled back laughing. The men were much more reserved. They walked right up as if peeing into a Singing Toilet were the most natural thing on earth.

Once we'd had our fill of toilets and they of us, we went for lunch. At the small Wharfhouse Takeaway just off Parnell Street we discovered yet another one of Rawene's hidden treasures, the veggie-burger. How the Lonely Planet missed this one is beyond me. At first the ingredient's list sounded unpalatable, but from bite one, we were hooked.

On a bun place the following:

1 Fried Egg
1 Grilled Pineapple Ring
Slices of Cooked Beets
Grated Carrot
Tomato Slices
Melted Cheese
Lettuce

Once there, we stayed up talking, playing cards and drinking tea with the other backpackers till 9:30 pm and then hit the tent. In the morning we were to take the Heap (our affectionate name for our '74 VW Golf) to catch the 9 am ferry back across the harbor, head to the Kauri Forest and thence into Auckland.