US anchorman bags NZ loos on talk show

He may have raved about his "sensational" holiday in New Zealand, but a US news anchor had one serious problem with our country - the toilets.

Well, one toilet in particular, commonly found in our rural areas: the humble outhouse.

In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Today show host Matt Lauer talked about his fishing trip to New Zealand last week - which he described as "the most sensational country in the world".

He and his friend stayed in a hut, which he said had "no electricity, no running water, no facilities, if you will".

What followed was a rather extraordinary rant on these "facilities" from the self-confessed "germophobe".

"You know what has not improved in 200 years? Outhouses," he said. "Even if you have a Porta Potty ... you know that once a week, they're going to pick that thing up, put it on the back of a truck and hose it down or steam it down. An outhouse is basically a hole in the ground with a toilet seat. There's nothing else to it."

Lauer even avoided using this "hole in the ground" as much as possible.

"You'd be amazed how long you can hold it, if your only option is an outhouse. I think I held it in for four days.

"I don't even have to eat lunch and dinner because I know I'm going to have to go in that outhouse eventually - but it's a beautiful country".

- nzherald.co.nz