Facing a ban on drinking in public places imposed in Coromandel, New Zealand, a group of locals chose a rather inventive way to circumvent it – they created a place of their own which they declared exempt from the prohibitive measure.
The liquor lovers built a tiny sand island in the Tairua estuary, installed a picnic table and an ice box for beverages on it, and jokingly declared themselves as being in "international waters" and therefore not subject to the ban.
According to a local news website, Stuff, having erected and furnished their "sandy fort", the group was seen drinking into the [New Year’s Eve] night, watching the fireworks from the relative safety of their picnic table."
"Kiwis will do anything to drink at the beach, it seems," a Stuff contributor remarked.
Waikato East Area Commander Inspector John Kelly said the authorities weren’t aware of this development, calling it "creative thinking" and adding that he "would have joined them" (the 'island builders') if he had known about it.