New Zealanders find new use for your rotten caravan
Jesus may have walked on water but a New Zealand duo have one-upped the messiah himself by taking their caravan to the open seas.
Waiuku locals Darin Burns and Mathew Douglas upheld their status as the most innovative human beings you'll ever read about when they came by an abandoned caravan in a paddock near their homes. Where most would see the decaying ghost of family holidays past, Burns and Douglas went to work on the birth of a real world Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
You May Also Like
This isn’t the first foray into DIY multi-terrain vehicles for the duo.
In 2015, an out-of-sorts Subaru was rigged up and entered in the annual Army Bay Small Boats Fishing Classic, a gathering that focuses on making memories and not drowning rather than the pursuit of internationally-recognised naval titles.
The Subaru was later sold on Trademe.com with the reserve price starting at one dollar. The men made a solid $300 out of the sale. A humble beginning for the start of an aquatic revolution.
Not wanting to be tied down to the aquatic transformation of just one vehicle, Douglas and Burns didn’t hesitate when they happened upon an abandoned albeit rotten caravan in a paddock. Unsatisfied with the blatant waste of a perfectly good caravan, Douglas and Burns set about breathing fresh life into the vessel’s mouldy and slightly-rotten framework.
With a layer of polystyrene underneath, a strapped on outboard motor and an aesthetically necessary splash of paint, the make-shift vessel made its maiden voyage out onto Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand.
With a top speed of 15 knots, the caravan/fishing boat also boasts an indoor BBQ (often referred to as a fire hazard), drink holders and enough deck space to swing a marlin or two. The captain and first mate assured New Zealand television network Seven Sharp that the caravan was safer to be in water than on land. A fine point, made by a man in a structurally rotten aquatic adventure machine.
Polystyrene and caravans: the much needed collaboration to bring Atlantis to the surface (not yet done) and to take your travelling home across the oceans? Probably not - but these two everyday Bear Grylls of ingenuity say to keep a weathered eye on the horizon. They’re as far from beached as as you can get.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
