Dragging logs out of rivers is a big enough salvage operation as it is but when the Iron Test team arrived at Whitikau Forest in East Cape there was also a storm-damaged Washington 188 swing yarder and a landslide-damaged 10-wheel forwarder for Forest Solutions Group of Gisborne to rescue from the ravages of various storms over the last year or so.
While we normally test new machines, this Komatsu D65 dozer had a challenging and unusual job to undertake, and we didn’t want to miss that.
Also along for the salvage operation was Whakatane-based Kahu NZ's Black Hawk logging helicopter, shifting some stems out of the flood zone with a new grapple that they have recently developed for grabbing logs and slash out of steep terrain.
To read more, get your copy of the March 2024 edition of NZ Logger magazine, on sale from 4 March. Check the link on this page to subscribe to either a printed or digital copy (or both).
