Harold the Giraffe’s iconic van is up for sale and my childhood can’t take it
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Harold the Giraffe’s iconic van is up for sale and my childhood can’t take it

prepared to put my life savings ($3) on this

Harold the Giraffe’s van - where we all learned about drugs, our bodies and relationships - is up for sale in a charity auction. 

If you don't know what Harold's van is, basically a couple of times a year it would rock up to school and send the kids crazy. Everyone in class would pile in and Harold would pop his gorgeous animatronic or puppet head out of his room and educate the students on many aspects of life.

Currently parked in Hokitika after failing to get a Certificate of Fitness, the van on sale is the West Coast home of the iconic giraffe. All proceeds from the TradeMe auction will go towards the West Coast children and youth receiving the Life Education programme. 

Before you worry (or ask him to be your flattie), Harold still has a home. The van on sale wasn’t up to entertaining and informing masses of schoolchildren, so Harold replaced it with another van earlier this year. 

In the listing's description, Harold’s team say the potential buyer could turn the historic van into anything they want. 

“Plenty of rust and no longer able to get a COF,” the description reads. “The possibilities of what you could do with this beauty are endless!”

“This classroom was built in 1991 and has served as Harold the giraffe’s home from when our Trust was formed in 2005 and has been in use up until early this year when the old girl was put into retirement.”

“Thousands of West Coast children have had the pleasure of sitting in this classroom for the past 18 years, its history enriched in the carpet and walls, however, we don’t want the story to end there!“

“Support the Life Education Trust and all tamariki and rangatahi here on the wild and rugged West Coast by purchasing this beauty. The possibilities are endless. We may even throw in your very own Harold soft toy!”

Cramming into Harold’s van to learn and dance under the stars with the talking giraffe was the stuff of dreams. I don’t know if I’ll ever reach that level of excitement again so who’s keen to go in on a bid for the van with me?