23
A PROPHECY IN CARROTLAND
To our relief, the new channel was doing well, and that gave us warm
fuzzy feelings. Warm fuzzy feelings are the only way to get through
the winter in England. I always say, warm up and chill out, so about a
year into starting ‘JOLLY’, Ollie, Lizzie, Gabie, and I (with Muncho and
Legumasaurus Rex in tow) headed out to New Zealand for a much
needed holiday. It was a place I had always wanted to go since reading
‘Harry Potter’ and I was really excited. We were also planning to film a
few ‘JOLLY’ episodes while we were there, but little did we know, we
would film not only the greatest ‘JOLLY’ episode of all time, but
potentially the greatest YouTube video in the entire world, nay galaxy:
‘Carrotland’.
In the foothills of Mount Ruapehu, lies the idyllic sun-lit town of
Ohakune. On its Southern border lies Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park.
It is an incredible place that reminds you simultaneously of all the
stories you knew and loved from childhood and at the same time none
of them. It is fresh and yet universal. It’s most stunning feature is the
world’s largest fibreglass carrot figurine. It was one of the most
beautiful things I’ve ever seen and so it made me think of Gabie.
Apparently, Ohakune grows two-thirds of all the carrots in New
Zealand and, as you travel through this eden of carrot-suited farmland,
it is impossible to miss the roadside tribute to Ohakune’s biggest crop.
Standing a little over 7.3m tall, my smiling tasty-vegetable namesake
has awed visitors since 1984 and is accompanied by a veritable salad
bar of root vegetable artistry. There is a carrot themed car, see-saw
and swings, which are far too small for adult-sized hips to fit in. We
had a go on everything and talked about it all for a really long time so
that we could crop it down into a snappy video. Not all of my
speeches made the cut, for I made many. I was moved. I was
stunned. I was affected by the effect of such a magical place. The
place gave me fresh pride in being a Carrott and I longed to share the