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Big Kid Fun

Still a kid a heart? Then head to Dig This – the ultimate excavator playground. Harrison Hunkin got a crash course in heavy duty earthmoving

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This Cat D5K dozer pushes out 100hp (75kW)

Where in the world would you find an amusement park that allows the average Joe to operate giant machinery without any experience or accreditation? I’ll give you a hint… it’s almost the bottom of the world.

Yep, nestled in the small New Zealand city of Invercargill you’ll find the ultimate playground and it’s called ‘Dig This’.

Basically, anyone from kids, mums, dads, grandads, work parties, you name it, can get behind the wheel of machinery such bulldozers or excavators and have the time of your life – it’s essentially a big toy playground – and it’s amazing!

While it is based upon the hugely popular formula established by Dig This Las Vegas, this one’s a fair bit closer. So, as part of our exciting TV show Mighty Machines, we jetted over the ditch to Invercargill to have a bit of fun, and there was lots of it!

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First up was making a mess in a 15 tonne Caterpillar excavator

KNUCKLE HEADS

We were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves for the day. First bit of fun was making a mess with Dig This’ range of 15 tonne Caterpillar excavators.

Admittedly, we aren’t earthmoving experts so the crew at Dig This made sure we learnt the basics.

If you go and watch the episode on our website (TradeFarmMachinery.com.au) you will actually hear the words “I reckon I would be quite good at this” come out of the mouth of my co-host Cobey Bartels. I let you be the judge of that.

After the Caterpillars, we jumped inside a couple of Cat D5K dozers. If you aren’t picking it up by now – we were thinking we have the best job in the world!

In terms of power, this bad boy was pushing out just under 100 horsepower (75kW) from its C4.4 ACERT engine. After mucking around what seemed like hours it was time to relieve our frustrations by smashing up a car whilst using a massive excavator.

That’s right, Dig This sources cars from the local scrap yard for the benefit of your sanity. If you’ve had a bad day at work, or someone has cut you off in peak hour traffic, Dig This’ “Aggression Session” is the perfect remedy.

That poor little Honda Civic was crushed to pieces, but it was the highlight of the day.

Quirky and crazy in a good way, Dig This Invercargill is an experience that will not disappoint. With nine ridiculously fun options to choose from there are activities for young, the young at heart and groups.

 

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