17 April 2010

66 years old,and still swims three times a day!





Once again my enthusiasm for old machinery brings me back to the blog. We're just back from a short break in the resort town of Rotorua, New Zealand, where serendipity placed us on a rather unusual 1944 vehicle.


At first glance, this is a rather ugly tour boat. But it has a party trick up its sleeve!




The signwriting gives it away a little, but never mind.........





up...........




out......





and away!

If you've never seen one before, its a DUKW amphibious landing vehicle,
21,000 were built by GM during the Second World War.




This is Phil [also known as Daffy], our driver/skipper/ standup comedian. A top
 bloke, kept up a running commentary for the full 90 minute tour.The old girl
 is not known for its speed on the hills, but Phil kept us entertained with a polished 
 stream of  information about the vehicle, the geothermal history of the area, the 
town landmarks and the lakefront properties.His good-hearted ribbing of the
 passengers, and light-hearted approach to safety information was a standout 
example of Kiwi hospitality.




We took two DUKW's out to Lake Tikitapu and Lake Okareka.
It defies all commonsense to drive a six ton truck straight down
 a boat ramp,but amazingly, it floats!




Broken down? No chance! After driving out of each lake, Phil slipped under the truck on a crawler
 and carefully removed all traces of lake weed. It's vital to the local ecosystem that there is no
 cross-contamination between the lakes, and to further protect the environment, both vehicles
 now run on bio-diesel.




After the tour, we're delivered safely back to the town centre.
We all had a great trip, and recommend you 'give it a go' if you're ever in Rotorua.





YouTube clip of launch


DUKW facts, pictures and history


Rotorua tourist information











2 comments:

  1. Now that looks like a fun tour! They have similar duck boats in Washington State over here and seems like I've seen them a couple of other places we've been -- but never took the tour. Now if we could be guaranteed somebody like your tour guide I'd really be tempted. It sounds like a ton of fun!

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  2. Daffy obviously enjoys his job and loves people. We don't usually go on the 'touristy' tours, but I'm glad we went on this one! You did a great job, Naki! Much better than I could have done.

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