I was going to go off and do my own thing and use this as an opportunity to get a bit of space and clear my head. Mel convinced me otherwise and showed me photos of where they were going. The largest inflatable slide in Australia you say? I’m in! It sounds like a slip and slide mark two to me. I grabbed my things and went along for the ride.
The weather was pants again. It was raining on and off so we weren’t actually sure if the place was open. The car park looked practically empty. This could be a good thing or a bad sign. Luckily everything was open and my friends wanted to go on the toboggan ride. Oh dear. Well the last time I did this I toppled over so I wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to go through that again. It worked out to be better value for money in purchasing a combo ticket so I thought I’d give it another bash.
The first time I went round was ridiculous. I was going so slow yet convinced myself that I was going a million miles an hour. When I came out the other side in one piece I was determined to make the second time count. I didn’t brake once and went for it. I enjoyed every minute. I’m so glad I went back on again. I can now laugh at my first experience but rest in the knowledge that I can do it.
Steady now...
Cool Runnings!
I'm still on!
Next on the list was the big slide. We were all pumped and ready to tackle this monstrous creation. It. Was. Awesome. We all had our cameras with us to record the craziness. We went down forwards, backwards, spinning, posing and at one point I was thrown down by Steff. We went on the smaller slide next to it but it didn’t give us the same level of thrills as the mother slide. After a while we got a little complacent and our minds wandered to other slip and slide options around the park. We thought we’d play the fool and go on the children’s slides. Unfortunately it ended in tears…literally.
We certainly slipped and slid across the part obstacle course part bouncy castle. I regretted going in straight away. I couldn’t stand up! I was way behind the others so when I reached the top of the miniature slide, I was oblivious to the chaos that unfolded at the bottom.
Steff went down the slide no problems but realised that there was a problem. Rather than there being a cushioned bouncy landing at the end, all that was there was a small sponge cushion with carpet on top. In our excitement we missed this feature and the teeny tiny sign that says not to go on the inflatable when wet. Mel came down the slide before Steff had chance to warn her. He shouted after her and Mel panicked and pushed her arms out sideways to grab a couple of inflatable arms that protruded at the bottom. Mel’s arm got caught in one of the loops and, with the speed she was going at, snapped back as the rest of her body fell to the ground. Sarah went seconds after Mel, bounced off the sponge and rolled onto the concrete that came after it. Thankfully, despite coming down the slide like everyone else, I landed just in front of where Mel was lying. Both girls were in pain and Sarah was crying. At first I thought she was laughing as it was a bit of an odd situation – grown adults hurting themselves on a kids bouncy castle – but they turned out to be tears of agony. I didn’t know what to do and Steff was still filming on his GoPro camera!
Mel’s arm was red and throbbing. Luckily, despite the thwack to Sarah’s head, no blood was drawn. Dazed and confused, the girls sat and measured the pain they were in against the fun that could still be had from the awesome main slide. Mel was the first to join in. The three of us ran up and threw ourselves back into the game. Sarah was still feeling dizzy. Mel had me in hysterics as she slid down with her poorly arm stuck out in the hope that it wouldn’t get damaged on the way down. After the first couple of times, Mel released her inhibitions and went for it again like before. The adrenalin must have kicked in. Sarah went on once or twice but sat the rest out. Mel didn’t want to let getting hurt ruin the time spent on the legendary slide. For the majority, we were all on a high.
It's a long way up.
Smiles all round
Steff shows off.
For lunch, we went to Hungry Jacks. There are no Burger Kings here so I believe it’s just that with a different name, except I actually like Hungry Jacks! Mel announced that we should do something else as she didn’t want to come down from the natural high she was on. I agreed so we looked into what else we could do. Steff
Upon hearing that it was half price because it was so late in the day as well as getting student discount, sold it for Mel, Steff and I. Sarah decided to stay in the car. We walked around the entire place within 5 minutes. There wasn’t much to see and we just missed the dolphin and seal kisses. What a photo opportunity that would have been and a great experience. We weren’t too disappointed overall as the pools with the dolphins in had open access. We tried everything to get the dolphins to come to the side so we could pet them. Within an hour, we managed to get them to come over a couple of times. One of the trainers threw in two rugby balls to play with. I managed to grab one. The dolphin saw I had the toy and came over. I threw the ball and the dolphin caught it in his mouth. I did this repeatedly and I never grew tired of doing so.
Success!
There was one moment which made it for me and I even managed to capture it on film...
I made a new friend.
We saw the seals and little penguins but were obsessed with the dolphins. Mel asked one of the volunteers if we could book an experience that day but there was no availability, plus it was mightily expensive. Disappointed, we went back to the pools to try and make friends with the dolphins. We believed we at least got our money’s worth but pushed for more. Mel asked the volunteers how to get the dolphins to come over with no luck. There was hardly anyone around and I had a feeling we were annoying a couple of the other trainers by hanging by the pools but we didn’t care.
One guy walked past and he could see we were struggling to interact with the two dolphins in the pool. He explained that the males are a lot more stubborn but are still playful. He made a sound by clapping the side and they shot across to us. We spoke to him quite a bit about these specific dolphins and their circumstances. They were born in captivity so don’t know any different. They are fed copious amounts of fish daily and are happy. Mel cooed that he has the best job in the world and asked what you need to become a trainer. The trainer replied that firstly the person needs a degree in marine biology. Huff. Well that’s that dream dashed then!
After a while the guy left to see if there was any fish left over so we could witness a dolphin feeding. Time had passed and we were all distracted by one another and generally messing around. I turned around and saw the trainer didn’t have anything in his hands and my heart sank. He then passed the side of the pool with a bucket and I shot back exclamations of joy to Mel and Steff. In a moment of pure randomness and surrealism, the trainer walked up to us with a bucket of fish and a friend…a sea lion! Steff had previously harped on about wanting to see a sea lion up close so this was perfect for him. We couldn’t believe what was happening before our eyes.
Greg (I feel it is now appropriate to be on first name basis with this brilliant man), fed the sea lion and allowed us to take photos next to it. The sea lion saluted us, danced and rolled around right in front of us. We were speechless. Greg left and we waved goodbye to his friend. We were all a flurry with expressions of glee and excitement.
I can see you.
Aww!
Greg came back around and we fawned over him with appreciation and gratitude. Oh it wasn’t over folks. We each danced with the dolphins, stroked their backs, bellies and chins. Greg then asked me to stand to one side and get my camera ready. Mel and Steff stood near the dolphins. Greg counted down…one…two…three…
Well you can see the shock on Mel and Steff’s faces. We weren’t expecting that!! We couldn’t believe what had happened. People pay hundreds of dollars for experiences close to this. We felt that we truly got something unique and unbelievably brilliant.
I got a turn too.
So you think you can dance?
As we walked out with the hugest of grins glued to our faces, I thought about what we would say to Sarah. Obviously we were outwardly happy and couldn’t stop banging on about it but wouldn’t that be insensitive to do in front of Sarah? It was slightly awkward in the car. Sarah had fallen asleep and I asked if she was ok. Sarah groggily replied with a half smile. We told her what had happened but held back on the enthusiasm!
To round off the day, we went to the beach. Unfortunately the surf was rubbish again and Steff broke his surf board. It was a bit of a duff ending to the day but we were all still happy.
The guys went out for dinner and I stayed in to make a call to a friend back home. They brought me back chocolate cake. They know me so well! As the sugar high kicked in, so did something else. My ankle was throbbing. I propelled into the back wall of the bouncy slide awkwardly one time as I couldn’t quite turn myself round in time. My ankle crumpled in the impact. What had started off as a niggling pain, turned into a limping discomfort. By the end of the night I was in a lot of pain. Sarah kindly gave me some paracetamol tablets and they kicked in pretty quickly. What a day. What a brilliantly fantastic and awesomely tremendous day. More please!
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