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UPDATE: The Motunui has been lifted and transported, here are some photos:
Click on the images below to appreciate the scale of this operation
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- Lifting boat out on 4th and 5th of July was completed
- Transporting to Waitomo 6th and 7th of July was successful
An amazing and Very interesting Story from Woodlyn Park, Waitomo Caves, New Zealand
Woodlyn Park was voted as being in the “Top 10 of the Worlds Most Unusual Motels” by the Lonely Planet 2006 and owner Billy Black is about to start work on his latest World unique motel.
I have included a few notes on what Billy Black has achieved this far and think that this next operation is something that would make very interesting television.
He has purchased a WWII Patrol Boat, a Fairmile Ship built in 1942 in Auckland. This boat is part of our History as 12 were built for anti submarine patrol in the Islands during WWII and only a couple survived including this one he has purchased, The Motunui.
Billy has done some research on the Fairmile and now has the original plans from the New Zealand Navy, as well as finding a gentleman up North who actually helped built these boats down at the Auckland waterfront in 1942. He has an accurate memory including riding a delivery bike as a 15 year to the supply store in Albert street to get it loaded up with copper nails to take back to the ship yard. He also mentioned that this boat has a copper shield all over the hull beneath water line to stop the worm getting into it while patrolling up in the Islands, he has also located the daughter of the ship yard owner Percy Vos and she actually worked in the office and also launched one of these boats back then.
This boat the Motunui is also part of Auckland History serving as a ferry out to Wahiheke Island for many years.
The boat is 60 Ton and 34 metres long and it will be a monumental project to transport it in one piece from Tauranga on the east coast across country to Woodlyn Park in Waitomo on the west coast to add to this World Unique Motel Complex.
He plans to drain a lake on his property and build a causeway out to the Island in the lake and drive the ship out onto the Island on the transporter where it will be unloaded. A major job of refurbishing and making into 5 family motel units will be done over the winter ready for the next summer. The causeway will be replaced with a bridge out to the ship left marooned on its own Island to create yet another World Unique Motel.
After being written up as being in the Top 10 of the Worlds Most Unusual Motels Billy Blacks aim is to make it to No 1 in the world, and with his past record of determination, most people visiting don’t doubt that this could happen.
The History / Profile of Billy Black & Woodlyn Park.
Barry Woods AKA Billy Black started out as a sheep Shearer and was involved in a World Record of 8500 sheep shorn in one day which still stands today with himself shearing 675 on that particular day. He then travelled the world for many years as a professional Shearer – catching the Summer of the Northern Hemisphere and shearing in the outback of Wyoming USA, then on to England and up into Scotland, into Germany before heading to the Southern Hemisphere to the Summer shearing in West Australia then moving across to Eastern States of Australia.
On his last trip around the world in 1990 he headed to the eastern Seaboard of USA and learnt to built barns before heading back to New Zealand to buy a farm. This was then sold in 1995 to build the Woodlyn Park Complex in 1996 – a Barn with Bar Restaurant, the Worlds Only U-Drive Jet Boat course and the start of the unique motel complex with a 1950s Fiat Rail Car.
This has been an on going development with a Bristol Freighter Aeroplane added in 2002, and the Hobbit Motels in 2005.
Along the way Billy Black captured the Tahoroa Trio, in answer to the South Island Shrek Sheep story, not one but three Shrek sheep.
He has trained animals and developed the first and only Kiwi Culture show, from live explosions to dancing pigs, this show has been described by the Lonely Planet as “one helliva show”.
A star was born with the arrival of Don rash, a Kune Kune pig who was pig napped just before filming an add for television, Don was found and has now travelled from Whangarei in the North to Hokitika in the South Island performing at conferences and shows with Billy Black. Don Rash has since set world record for the first and only pig to abseil into the famous Lost World Cave in Waitomo and now learnt to ride in a motorbike side car, which has been seen on television in Australia on the Great Outdoors show. Don is on the lookout for a Harley Davidson sidecar, to be the first ”Hog on a Hog” at the conferences he attends.
This complex has now been voted in the top 10 of the most unusual places to stay in the world by the Lonely Planet and will be seen around the world on the Lonely Planet programme – Globetrotter at the end of the year with an audience of over 30 million!
With the challenge of moving the 20 ton train on site the logistics of pulling an aeroplane apart on his own and moving it across country from Wahi to Waitomo then the technical operation of building the worlds first underground Hobbit Motels, Billy was looking for a bit more of a challenge, so the latest is a 34 metre, 55 ton Patrol Boat from world warII.
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