Welcome to Kuusamo Excavator Jack

Thousands of people lined the streets of Kuusamo and crowded into Kuusamo town square yesterday evening to welcome Excavator Jack to Kuusamo.

Excavator Jack Finally Arrives In Kuusamo

Excavator Jack, real name Juuka Mutanen drove from Hanko in the south of Finland, some 942km in his mini excavator at just 4km per hour, to Kuusamo arriving on the 29th June 2010.

A trip he undertook as a bet after reaching over 50,000 fans on Facebook.

At just before 6pm his mini excavator came into view, heading for the main square in Kuusamo city centre, a police escort leading the way and around a hundred people walking behind him for the last 5km into town

Excavator Jack drove up the streets of Kuusamo, his digger adorned with soft toys, flowers and reindeer antlers and held out a webcam to capture his arrival on his Bambuser account,

The crowd closed in behind him, following him into the main square where a stage had been rigged and a band and several officials waited to welcome him to Kuusamo. Even Santa and Mrs Claus made and appearance.

Welcome to Kuusamo, Excavator Jack.

But just for future reference, we do have an airport you know, you don’t have to drive!