Zany take on ablutions at holiday park

An ablutions block at Queenstown Top 10 Holiday Park Creeksyde is set to become one of the resort's newest tourist attractions, where guests can enjoy the view from one of Ziptrek Ecotours' ziplines and other tourist attractions while they go about their business.

Creeksyde owners Erna and Tony Spijkerbosch believed the Oast House had the potential to become the Hundertwasser toilets of the South.

"The Hundertwasser toilets in Kawakawa Northland attract tourists from all over the world. They have put Kawakawa on the map because they're quirky, fun and really interesting," Mrs Spijkerbosch said.

"Our new ablution block grew from a design that was inspired by the traditional Oast House - a building used to store hops - but it's since turned into an expression of Queenstown culture and art. We think people will love them and will come specifically to visit."

Mrs Spijkerbosch said when guests were heading for a wash they were "guaranteed a sight", wherever they looked.

Queenstown's best-known views, eye-popping artwork and several well-known properties were represented, along with "the necessary plumbing elements".

"We invited Ziptrek Ecotours and other operators to take part, then commissioned trompe l'oeil artist Mark Spijkerbosch (Mrs Spijkerbosch's nephew) and the result is something really very special and lots of fun," she said.

Female visitors step into the Oast House through an image of a larger-than-life-sized ballet dancer into a day spa environment with trompe l'oeil rock pools painted on the floor.

Males pass a larger-than-life doorman to enter a Speight's Ale House complete with bar stools and local barflies. In one of the men's showers, the star of the scenic shot is a towel-bearing female guide zipping across the spectacular view - a picture which was "naturally vice-versa for the ladies".

The couple were thrilled with the floor-to-ceiling wall-wrapping vistas Ziptrek Ecotours had contributed - a company they valued as a fellow sustainable practice-conscious business.

"We wanted guests to feel relaxed and at ease with their surroundings at Creeksyde and people who stay here always comment on how they enjoy our little eccentricities around the site. But this has turned into something much bigger and the initial reactions are just amazing."

The ablution block artwork joins dozens of unusual findings around the Creeksyde holiday park, such as recycled mosaics, sculptures and three-dimensional trompe l'oeil illusions painted on the floor of the male and female ablutions block.

"It's become a real tourist attraction, so popular, in fact, we've had to allocate a public viewing time to ensure people don't disturb our guests at the park."