Digger

Also spotted at the same location was this Samsung SE450 45 ton hydraulic excavator which was painted up in the the now familiar Volvo colour scheme. This machine was once owned by a British company called HDL does any reader know where they are from?

Also just to the left in that photo was a tractor unit which was formerly owned by Ringwood based earthmoving and construction company Raymond Brown Group

This area along the side of the A5 motorway seemed to be a bit of a hot spot on the machine front, sadly for me though it was a Sunday on my visit so there was not much going on.

Here we see a very new Hyundai HL780-7A wheel loader which has 30m³ bucket capacity. In the background is an old series-3 excavator.

In the same yard was this machine which I think could of been from the UK, sadly I could not get close enough to identify the make and model - any ideas readers?

Across the road from that yard was what looked like a machine graveyard! There was loads of old Cat equipment in for repairs and some which looked set for a final visit to the scrap yard, like this old dozer.

In better condition was this Caterpillar 769 dumptruck which was undergoing repairs under the much needed shade!

Further back towards our hotel at Protaras I came across another British classic. An old Hymac 596 "rubber duck" which was enjoying the Cypriot sun and looked as if it had been lying there for some time!

The wheeled 596 which I believe was launched around 1972 was based on the tracked 590 model and could use buckets up to 760 litres.

This shot shows the hydraulic pump and also you may notice the air conditioned cab.....no glass!
Also at the same area were these two Komatsu machines. A WA380 wheeled loading shovel and a PC340LC-7, which has the two piece boom to allow the fitting of a long reach demolition boom that is seen on the lorry alongside the loader.

This big Hitachi EX600LCH was for sale in a plant yard a few miles up the road from Zygi and appears to be sporting a heavy duty rock bucket.

On my final port of call we visited the Cape Greko area, which is a natural park and a place of outstanding beauty, as this photo shows.
So I was somewhat shocked to find that just over the back from where that photo was taken is a local rubbish tip! I found it amazing that they would tip rubbish in such a beautiful place but nevertheless I couldn't help myself from spotting another two old Cat classics to take some photos of and vowed to go back on my own the next day.

I must admit I was getting some strange looks from the local refuse lorry drivers who were driving past me and the smell was pretty awful but I got my reward in the end when I got to take the photos of this Cat D8K dozer and yet another 966C wheeled loading shovel.

Note the British 53 number plate on the back of the 966C, not sure how that came to be on there?
Still seems incredible that they are tipping here so near to the coast but what a view the machine operators must get!

As our Cypriot friend Valentino told us "Hey Nick this is Cyprus ....rules don't apply" !

Roll on next years visit to this magical island.