A yellow submarine in rural NZ
We don’t all live in a yellow submarine as the Beatles song would have you believe – but that doesn’t mean you can’t, at least for a night.
Floating among a forest of redwoods on a secluded Rangitı¯kei property, you can stay in Keith and Jen Lovelock’s ‘‘Yellow Submarine’’ for $120 a night through Airbnb.
The submarine is assembled from an old grain silo, spa bath and parts from a milking shed, and the Lovelocks’ handcrafted submersible has turned into the perfect getaway for both Kiwis and tourists since it was finished six months ago.
Past guests have praised Keith’s ingenuity, saying it provided an escape from the mundane rat race of life and allowed them to reflect on the beauty of imagination and tranquillity.
The submarine fits four people, who enter through a mechanised bulkhead to be greeted by a statue of Beatles great John Lennon.
The Beatles’ 1968 hit echoes throughout the two-storey structure, with blueprints of submarines from World War II plastered across the walls.
Victorian steampunk artefacts
decorate the galley before torpedoes stacked midship lead to a Beatles-themed bathroom and crew’s quarters at the rear.
Guests can even climb up to the captain’s bridge and ‘‘set sail’’.
All that’s missing is a periscope and deck gun, Keith said. ‘‘But we’ll soon have that sorted.’’
A former radio technician, Keith said the year-long project cost him staying in it.
‘‘We thought it was going to be our playhouse, but it’s just taken on a life of its own. I was called a day dreamer at school . . . perhaps I never left.’’
Although the venture was yielding a tidy profit, Lovelock said sharing a morning coffee with people from all over the world, without leaving home, was the biggest return.
Prior to building the submarine, Lovelock had turned a 125-year-old pump house he found rotting in a swamp on the family farm in the backblocks of Marton into a tiny house, which is also listed on Airbnb.
Everything inside was recycled. Even the shower floor was carved out of an old suitcase, with the other half fitted into the submarine.
An Airbnb spokesperson said owners were getting creative to stand out and make themselves a destination, rather than a stopover – although there were very few owners in New Zealand, who had gone to the lengths the Lovelocks had.