“Dinosaur bones” make joyful days for kids in New Zealand community

Beijing / 13 November 2020

“Honk, honk, toot, toot!” Four-year-old Cooper and two-year-old Jenna in Taranaki, New Zealand, could not wait to wake up early every morning to say hello to the “dinosaur bones” – that was their name for the Siemens Gamesa 63-meter long blades under transportation for the Waipipi Wind Farm in New Zealand. And every morning, the big trucks carrying wind turbine blades said hello back to the two kids with a toot.

Communications Specialist
In September, Cooper and Jenna got used to getting up with the sun to watch “dinosaur bones” travel past their house. Sometimes, they hardly had time to get dressed before heading out to stand in front of their house and wait for the dinosaur bones. As their mother Danielle Fisher put it, “a toot was just like a Christmas gift for them; even if I couldn’t get them dressed – if they saw them coming out they went.”

Cooper and Jenna were only two of a team of kids along the way who waved out to the trucks every morning. The truck drivers ensured a particularly slow and quiet drive through this community every day, and they couldn't resist responding with a little toot of the horn for their dedicated little spectators.
Cooper and Jenna, the kids who waved out to the trucks every morning
During the last trip, the truck driver stopped – with all safety precautions taken, of course – and dropped off some caps and T-shirts with the kids’ names and the picture of the trucks on them, to remember the brief time they spent together during the sunrise while transporting the “dinosaur bones.”

“Cooper and Jenna are so excited whenever an enormous blade is traveling through. The toot always makes the kids’ day when they see the ‘dinosaur bones’ coming along the road. I would like to thank the truck drivers for their kindness and wonderful gifts for our kids,” added Danielle.

“We were extremely pleased to bring joy and happiness to kids from this local community,” said Thomas Hertling, Managing Director of Siemens Gamesa Australia and New Zealand. “We have a long and proud history of strong community engagement in our company, which is one of the reasons Siemens Gamesa is a trusted partner to our customers. Our employees take a lot of pride sharing moments like these,” he stated.

The Waipipi Wind Farm project features 31 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines and is located approximately 6km south-east of Patea and 8km south-west of Waverley, in the South Taranaki, New Zealand. Following the expected commissioning early next year, the wind farm will generate enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 65,000 New Zealand homes and save the emission of roughly 250,000 tons of carbon.

Of course Cooper, Jenna, their family and friends will be invited to the opening ceremony to see the dinosaur bones in motion.


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