Ohakune has had a specially made carrot rocket [designed by a NZ boat builder living in PioPio!] put in place at the award winning Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park. Photo / Supplied
Ohakune has had a specially made carrot rocket [designed by a NZ boat builder living in PioPio!] put in place at the award winning Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park. Photo / Supplied
A man named Carrott and money raised from an autobiography he knew nothing about have combined to bring about a new feature at the Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park.
The 5.3-metre carrot rocket appeared earlier this month and park development team member Peggy Frew said most of the funding for theproject came from Youtubers Josh Carrott and Ollie Kendal.
Also known as the Korean Englishmen, they run the ‘Jolly’ channel.
“When they were in New Zealand they found the carrot park and Josh decided it was his spiritual home,” Frew said.
Money was raised via sales of Once Upon a Time in Carrotland, Carrott’s “autobiography” which was written and published by Kendal without the subject’s knowledge.
The man entrusted with the rocket’s construction was Poipoi boat builder Max Laver.
He said the opportunity came about after he and his family visited the park and got chatting with another development team member, Dave Scott.
“We took it on, drew it out in full size, and figured out the method and the materials,” Laver said.
“Once we got that, there was a lot of making it up as we went along. We didn’t exactly have a guidebook.
“Now, when people ask me what I do, I can tell them I specialise in flying carrots. I feel like I’ve validated myself to quite a lofty height in this field.”
Dave Scott tests out the new carrot rocket in Ohakune. Photo / Supplied
He said it was built very much like a boat and could probably sail quite well on the water.
Laver and his colleague Tony Williams used multi-board, foam, marine plywood, and fibreglass.
It took five months to complete.
“We built it in sections. Everything had to be really strong because of the height and the size,” Laver said.
“It will be there forever and outlive all of us - the last thing standing on earth.
“A future generation will say ‘What did the humans use this for?’.”
The rocket’s audio system still needed to be tweaked but it would be fully functional by the end of January, Frew said.
“When kids sit in it and press the button, there will be sirens and an automated message saying ‘5,4,3,2,1, blast-off′ etc.
“We are having a big celebration on April 1 and the guys (Carrott and Kendal) are coming over from England to film it.”
The park’s original carrot statue, the tallest of its kind in the world at 7.2 metres, was put in place in 1984.
“It was just railway wasteland but in 2014 we started developing it with playground equipment and statues of the five big Ohakune vegetables,” Frew said.
“It’s just gone on and on. We have absolutely everything - gym equipment, walks and bike rides, gardens, and a new flying fox.”
The five vegetables are carrots, potatoes, parsnips, swedes, and Brussels sprouts.
“They are the base of Ohakune. We are the main supplier of vegetables through the North Island all winter,” Frew said.
“People are growing beetroot now too, so eventually we’ll need to put one of those up.”
Laver said he had been at the park this week to meet Frew and Scott.
“What they’ve done is an incredible achievement.
“Ohakune without that park is just unimaginable. It’s a huge feature and a reason to go there.”
Laver said he would be keen to make the beetroot for the playground if the possibility presented itself.
