How is it possible that a select group of New Zealanders were celebrating the arrival of 2018 while living in 2058 at the same time? With a liquor ban in place for the Coromandel Peninsula during the New Year period, a small band of individuals built a sandcastle in the middle of the Tairua estuary to ensure that they ring in the new year with some alcohol.
Complete with a wooden picnic table and a cooler, the group huddled together while sipping drinks and watching the fireworks on their small makeshift island, which they claimed was on "international waters." The reasoning behind creating the alcohol ban was to make the community "safer" during this time of the year. Anyone caught violating the ban could receive a fine of up to $250.
"That's creative thinking - if I had known [about it] I probably would have joined them," local commander Inspector John Kelly told the New Zealand Herald. Meanwhile, Thames-Coromandel Mayor Sandra Goudie didn't appear all too upset about their island. Instead, Goudie applauded the group for their undeniable creativity. "That's the one thing I absolutely love about the Coromandel: the inventive nature of the people," Goudie said. "It's about creativity, the legal reality is somewhat different."
