Organisers of the motor vehicle extravaganza Wheels at Wānaka say next Easter’s event will share a special birthday with an iconic tractor company.

Caterpillar, better known as Cat, will celebrate its 100th birthday almost to the day with the Wheels at Wānaka event (which runs from April 18-20) and it will be a key part of the event.

“Every Cat machine is invited to escape the shed for the weekend and join the biggest, noisiest birthday party the country’s ever seen,” Wheels at Wanaka’s general manager Allan Dippie said.

“It’s going to be quite the spectacle and earthmoving enthusiasts would be mad to miss it.” 

Wheels at Wānaka is an all vehicle, all machinery, ‘history-in-motion’ vintage fair - including steam engines, tractors and farming heritage, cars, motorbikes, trucks, earthmovers and heavy machinery.

The Cat, which evolved when salesman Benjamin Holt replaced a steam tractor’s rear wheels with tracks - helping farmers to work on soft soils, is a fitting part of this history.

Cat earthmovers and their operators have built New Zealand’s key civil projects including roads, hydroelectric schemes, ski fields, as well as breaking-in much of the nation’s farmland over the last century. 

Taking place across 50 acres at Three Parks, Wheels at Wānaka features everything from tractor pulling and enduro-X competitions, ATV and rally car demos, an earthmoving extravaganza and a non-stop parade ground programme.

The Cat will be a central part of the earthmoving extravaganza and Wheels at Wānaka 2025 will also host the New Zealand round of the Cat Global Operators Challenge. 

The winners then have a chance to compete against the world’s best operators at ConExpo in Las Vegas in March 2026. 

Following the announcement that 2025’s Wheels at Wānaka will be its final spin, the event has sold thousands of tickets, Allan said.

Hundreds of exhibitors, from trucks, tractors, cars and motorbikes have registered for what’s expected to be a “huge grand finale”.

Wheels at Wānaka will take place from April 18-20 at Three Parks. 

PHOTO: Supplied