Unusual items have been blocking Queenstown's sewer systems lately, with a soggy bathmat being the latest.
Half a coconut was pulled out last month, Queenstown Lakes District Council spokesman Jimmy Sygrove said.
"I don't know how they get there, but they were in the sewer system, so we just assume it went down the toilet," he said.
Council contractors received notifications of a blockage at the Kawarau Waste Water Pump Station on Wednesday, which was when they pulled out the bathmat.
Sygrove said it was usually residents who called and reported a blockage.
"If it's a blockage in the sewer system it will need a high pressure hose," he said.
These types of callouts cost the council up to $60,000 a year.
In the past they have found cellphones and linen.
"A lot of the time it's a mundane thing like wet wipes and fat build-up.
"Coconuts, cellphones and bathmats are among the best.
"We'd prefer it didn't happen."
