Tourists will dig this new venture
Invercargill’s newest and perhaps most ambitious tourist attraction, Dig This, officially opened its gates to the public this week.
Described as New Zealand’s first heavy equipment playground, the digger-based theme park has been developed by Transport World throughout the past year.
At the one-hectare site, customers are offered the opportunity to operate bulldozers, skid steers and excavators weighing up to 15 tonnes.
In the various packages on offer, customers can dig holes, stack tyres, and even crush cars.
Transport World director Scott O’Donnell said the new venture offered a unique experience for visitors.
‘‘It’s about bringing something a bit different. Where else in New Zealand do you have the opportunity to operate large-scale machinery?
‘‘We want Invercargill to be a place with attractions, not just a place where people drive through.’’
O’Donnell said the first challenge was to get the word out to people.
‘‘It’s something where you actually have to go out and experience it. There’s probably a bit of apprehension for some people, because they don’t think they know what to do – but that’s our job to teach them. It’s a very safe environment.’’
Instructors – communicating through headsets – are on hand to give advice to customers as they drive, and are also able to activate a kill switch on the vehicles if anything starts to go wrong.
Dig This founder Ed Mumm was there for the opening day, having made the trip from the United States to oversee the new operation.
Originally from Dunedin, Mumm developed the concept in Colorado before setting up franchises in Las Vegas and Dallas. He said the setup in Invercargill was ‘‘almost exactly the same’’ as in Las Vegas.
‘‘In Las Vegas, we have people travelling from all over the country to come and have this experience.
‘‘What we’re doing is taking a tool and going back and making it into a toy again.’’
From his own experience of the franchise, Mumm said Dig This had a much broader appeal than people might expect.
‘‘Originally, I thought it would mainly appeal to men, but when these guys first booked in, all their wives wanted to have a go as well.
‘‘In Las Vegas about 50 per cent of all our customers are female now.’’