The Lady of the Lake slid into Lake Wakatipu from the Kelvin Heights slipway at the weekend, where since May a small army of engineers, specialists and other tradespeople have been working to restore her to tip-top condition before she returns to service some time during the school holidays.
RealNZ marine asset manager Matthew Slover said the work included lifting out her twin engines for the first time since she had been plying the lake.
In a mammoth undertaking, the engines were dismantled and cleaned, and some parts replaced, before being craned back into place.
The team had also replaced some hull plates from the ship’s back section, retubed the boilers, and carried out normal annual maintenance.
The project had been a ‘‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’’ for everyone involved, Mr Slover said.
‘‘We’ve been running this operation from seven o'clock in the morning, seven o'clock at night, seven days a week, non-stop, through the holidays, through weekends, through everything.
‘‘A lot of people are working very hard to deliver this.’’
While the Earnslaw is out of action, RealNZ is ferrying visitors to and from Walter Peak on the Spirit of Queenstown catamaran.
