This week, we have an image supplied by Ben. We got last issue’s correct, Jeff was in Auckland, specifically Queens wharf, looking at that art place.
First thoughts: It feels like this photo was taken in Aotearoa due to the trees but there’s also trains, so. We’ll see.
Analysing the style of graffiti on the train cars confirmed our suspicions that this is in Aotearoa. Due to Critic's affiliation with graffiti artists throughout the country, we were able to communicate with them through our private contacts. We gave them detailed descriptions of what the graffiti looked like, and they suggested that its origins are in the North Island, so that's where we start our search.
From the lack of attempts to repurpose any of the train cars for housing, we can rule out Auckland and its rampant housing crisis. After many hours of going up and down the entirety of the North Island we realised that we shouldn’t have given this job to the only legally blind person in the office. Once we got rid of the blind writer, we realised that the side of one of the train cars was clearly marked with Tranz Metro which immediately links this image to Wellington (just kidding, blind writer is still here).
Researching “train graveyard Wellington”, we were sent to a Stuff article detailing that these Wellington Commuter trains are being ripped apart due to asbestos. Spicy. Within the article, there is an image which has a very similar - if not the same - singular tree on top of the hill. It also states that the destruction of the train cars is taking place within the Wellington landfill. Going to the closest place possible via Google street view, we can very clearly see the exact group of trees as in the original photo provided by Ben. We can also see the tops of the train cars in the background.
Everyone at Critic Te Ārohi is hoping that unlike everyone else in Wellington, Ben isn’t k-holing here while being exposed to large amounts of airborne asbestos.
Final answer: Ben is at the Wellington landfill admiring the delectable asbestos-riddled train cars. Yummy yummy.
Want to send in your own picture? Send an email to maps@critic.co.nz and we’ll give it a shot. Correct answers will be published next week.