Colossal squid: The big lift

Colossal squid: The big lift

I have to admit – there’s something special about about getting up at an ungodly hour to do something or see something out of the ordinary. Driving this morning through a beautifully still Wellington morning with no traffic is something out of the ordinary in itself 🙂

So it was exciting to see all the big trucks, flashing lights and men in reflective vests – I knew I’d come to the right place

The trucks and crane ready © Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008
The trucks and crane ready © Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008

As Hutch has said in his blog, it’s been a lot of planning and this morning certainly showed it – all the guys have done a great job so far – it’s all going very smoothly.

There hasn’t really been too much to see – our girl is safely snugged up tight in her tank with a lid bolted on – it reminds me of an interesting-looking coffin.

The tank inside the frame all good to go© Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008
The tank inside the frame all good to go© Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008

Hutch and Dennis had the tank lifted up on dollies so she was sedately wheeled outside where the guys were waiting to attach her to the crane.

Nuthin but air © Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008
Nuthin but air © Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008

Then all that was needed was for the tank to be carefully loaded onto the truck and taken down the road…

Loading up the truck © Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008
Loading up the truck © Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008

You’ll have to excuse the poor photography – it was dark, my hands were a wee bit wobbly and the shutter speed doesn’t allow for wobble.

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