James Rose
Posted 3/12/2012 by
Attractions
AAAAAAArrrrrrrrrgh!!!...........AAAAAAAArrrrrrrrrrrrgh!! It seemed like we were entering perhaps a dark prison run by an evil dictator, where the screams of the victims pierce the air. We exchanged glances, thinking this Aussie World gig was maybe a little dodgy. Then we spotted the source of the all this horror: a red, circular contraption, spinning wildly as it rose and fell on a vertical parabolic track. Jeez, these torturers are really creative we mused and wandered a little warily up to the brightly coloured entrance, where we were greeted warmly and tagged for entry. Nervously, we entered. All was, of course, well. The screaming thing was the feature ride called the Redback and it actually looked like a lot of fun for those brave/crazy enough to place themselves on it. Faces attached to bodies on it spin by in a blur, looking happy enough (some looked a little woozy though) and as their hair shot out in straight lines, lifted by the speed of their torture/thrills, it was fun to watch. But, we just looked at each other – two adults and two 8 year old girls – and shook our heads. No way.
Take a plunge and get wet
We headed off to the other end of Aussie World, where some more sedate attractions were situated. The dodgems, mini golf, the balls-in-clowns-mouths thing, the Funnybone Flicks cinema, the remote control boats, the Ferris Wheel, seemed like more our pace. Suitably whip-lashed from the dodgems, carting fuzzy toys won from the clowns and rolling with the bragging by the winner at mini golf and we were settling into the pace of Aussie World nicely. It was perhaps on the Ferris Wheel, where we got a nice panorama of the whole complex, that we started feeling a little braver. That Plunge thingy looks worth trying. Hey, what about the Giant Slide? I’m up for the Booma Zooma... After morning tea, in a very pleasant little eatery where gentle live music drifted on the breeze, we braced ourselves and headed for The Plunge. Time to get wet. The click,click, click up the steep slope was, as it usually is, a means of building tension. Higher. Higher. Higher. I was at the front of our little log and the two kids were getting nervous. The first plunge was fun and all agreed that was great and assumed that was it: that the bigger slope was an option. But we kept going. The kids weren’t happy. My wife wasn’t happy. I was loving it actually. Down we went and wet we got. Lids shaken but not stirred. Smiling. Wife unsmiling but holding up bravely. My daughter was unsure about the Giant Slide, but tried it with my wife and then, couldn’t get off. The two kids went 15 times.
"Ride number, er, 12..."
Then, we finished on the Booma Zooma – not me but the other three – which is a seat hung on chains which then spins really fast. Difficult to get pics. An ice cream on the way out and all happy. Fears overcome, yes, but still no Redback. Still no rollercoaster. No, not for us. Not this time. I get the feeling Aussie World warrants multiple visits. Once there, you're just finding which are your favourites and working out which ones pose a challenge to be postponed. Our favourites were the dodgems and the Giant Slide. Our challenges? Definitely the Redback and a few others. Leaving Aussie World, those screams still split the air. But, now we just looked at each other and smiled. Maybe next time. In fact, every Sunday from 11am to 3pm until the end of April 2012, included in the Aussie World admission price is live music in The Shed behind the Ettamogah Pub. This will include daily performances during the school holidays - 31 March to 9 April 2012. A good excuse to kick back and relax with local tunes and let the kids return to the rides!
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