It could be the ultimate al fresco dining arrangement for those who like to combine picnicking with life on the water.
But the floating picnic table built by Turangi man Matt O'Meeghan was also put into service last Friday as a fundraising vessel which traversed Lake Taupo from south to north.
Relaxed as it may have appeared, the picnic table's voyage, Float For A Cause, had a serious quest — to raise money for the Cameron Wilson Trust.
The Turangi-based trust helps families with children hospitalised with cancer. It is run by local man David Griffiths, a leukaemia survivor who lost his 14-year-old godson to cancer in 2008 at the age of 14. All money donated goes directly to families.
It may sound unwieldy, but the picnic table, powered by an 8-horsepower outboard engine successfully conquered Lake Taupo, steaming 41km from Stump Bay near Turangi to Two Mile Bay in a record-breaking (for a floating picnic table) time of nine and a half hours.