Tirau is a small New Zealand town. It’s pronounced Tee-rau
1. Tirau, originally referred to a hill three miles southwest of the village, is covered with cabbage trees where Maori trapped the keruru (wood pigeon). It was first settled by the Ngati Raukawa, although various tribes won the area in battle before Europeans purchased the surrounding district in 1868.
2. Tirau has always been a rest stop for travellers with the Oxford Royal Hotel operating as a staging post between Rotorua, Cambridge, Lichfield and later Taupo.
3. The benefits of its central location continue today. In fact Kate and Lane from PLAYING TO WIN stopped here for a break during their drive to Taupo. These days the town is unique for its corrugated iron sculptures.
4. A shop disguised as a sheep.
5. A dog.
6. Poppies
7. A book shop.
8. The toy shop.
9. Me standing outside the tourist center.
10. Gourmet Food shop.
11. A garage.
12. A dairy.
13. A gift shop with a pukeko (bird).
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November 22nd, 2007 at 2:50 am · Link
That is fantastic!
November 22nd, 2007 at 6:13 am · Link
I have never heard of this town before. I LOVE those sculptures!
November 22nd, 2007 at 7:29 am · Link
I think I’ll catch a flight tonight! Sounds lovely.
November 22nd, 2007 at 8:43 am · Link
LOl, that’s a bit crazy, but a bit crazy is more fun than normal.
November 22nd, 2007 at 10:43 am · Link
Those are the coolest shops! I’ll have to go there one day. New Zealand is definitley on my list. Thanks for sharing Shelley!!
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:32 pm · Link
What a great looking place!
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:37 pm · Link
It was fun visiting a few weekends ago. I wondered how many on-job injuries the corrugated iron sculptures would receive. It’s wicked sharp stuff!
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:52 pm · Link
What a kewl place. Great pics!
Happy T13!
November 22nd, 2007 at 4:14 pm · Link
Okay that is totally cool!! It’s officially going on my list of places I need to visit in my lifetime.
November 22nd, 2007 at 5:42 pm · Link
That looks like such a cool place to visit…
November 22nd, 2007 at 7:01 pm · Link
It reminds me a lot of the giant scultures along route 66 here in the US back when people still went driving on family vacations.
Very cool, Shelley!
November 22nd, 2007 at 8:28 pm · Link
I like the dog one best. What a fantastic idea! I loved going for this virtual visit – thanks.
November 22nd, 2007 at 8:36 pm · Link
Those are some cool shops. Very original!
November 22nd, 2007 at 9:00 pm · Link
I love the photographs you included. Thank you for teaching me about Tirau. Happy TT.
November 22nd, 2007 at 10:02 pm · Link
Very cool pics!!! I love your stuff on New Zealand.
November 22nd, 2007 at 10:41 pm · Link
Love those sculpture – never knew corrugated tin could be so versatile! LOL Great pictures!
November 22nd, 2007 at 10:55 pm · Link
The dog is one of my favorites, Julia. I even touched the tongue.
Jenyfer – there are some talented people around with great vision and imagination. I never thought of making sculptures, that’s for sure.
November 23rd, 2007 at 4:26 am · Link
Those are some neat photos! Very cool! Thanks for sharing them with us.
BTW, pasta is also good! Hope you enjoyed.
November 23rd, 2007 at 7:36 am · Link
The dog, the sheep, the poppies – it’s hard to decide which is the best.
Excellent blog, Shelley
January 12th, 2008 at 8:39 pm · Link
Looks like a fun place to visit.