It’s A Wild World
The surf was massive again today (18 – 20 foot!) and we were treated to some great surfing action off the reef right out the backdoor (I think we should name the break “Backdoor” and one day, if the swell ever drops to a size we can handle we’ll be able to surf it and say we’ve surfed “Backdoor, Hawaii”. Has a pretty good ring to it I reckon!) It is so amazing to be able to gulp down your Cornflakes, while in your pyjamas, sitting on the lounge and watching a few very awesome surfers pulling into some gnarly barrels! You don’t even need binoculars! For all those who scoffed at us for going shopping while the others partook in the magic North Shore big surf experience (from the sand) we did have a good look at the surf before and after the shopping expedition so we’re not all bad…
Well, today was a day that had been much anticipated by our kids for quite some time. In fact, yesterday morning, Maisy woke Georgia at the crack of dawn to ask her if she was excited about tomorrow! We had bought tickets to Wet’n’Wild Hawaii in about March and so the lead-up was pretty huge. We knew we were all in for a big day of fun in the sun!
We’d purposely booked on a Monday to avoid the weekend crowds but weren’t quite expecting the lack of fellow patrons we were able to enjoy. The place was very sparsely populated indeed! Apparently, on good authority from the lifeguard, it is the off season from the end of August until May so we not only just snagged it on a good day, but also a good week and a good month! We did notice that probably about 80% of those people that were there were Aussies too so I guess we weren’t alone in our good planning. We even ran into another family from Narrabeen Lakes. It was fantastic that it was so uncrowded though and we didn’t have to queue on anything at all.
As we were waiting to enter the park, a funny sign caught our eye. It was a picture of a little boy manequinn, named “Ian” and the sign read ‘Aloha, my name is Ian. At Wet’n’Wild we take safety very seriously so if you see me on the bottom of the pool, don’t panic, it’s just an exercise to see how quickly our lifeguards can react to safety situations’. What a classic! We were all hoping to run into Ian at some stage but no such luck.
Our group was made up of two different types of ride goers: the thrill seekers and those who weren’t prepared to take too many risks. While Tobes was a little timid at the start of the day, he soon warmed up and so for the majority of the day, I was the sole participant in the latter category, preferring to stay on the….let’s just say, the tamer of the rides! Maisy was forced to hang out with me due to her failure to meet the 49 inch mark but I think deep-down she’s a bit like her mother! We did get dragged on a couple of rides against our better judgement (and wills) and as usual were told elaborate stories of how good the ride was and how much we’d LOVE it! One of these rides was the Raging Rapid ride where the whole family could fit inside one of the rafts – a good selling point. We climbed the stairs with rapid heartbeats (Maisy and I that is) and squished our dripping wet selves into the slippery, flimsy-looking raft that was going to be launched from a great height, with all of us in it, down the rapid-ridden, snaking slide with a very steep gradient. The handles were a bit few and far between and I was sure there needed to be a bit more air in our raft. I had been paranoid about travelling backwards and Ross (backed up by the ride attendant) had assured me that the heaviest person always goes backwards. Just sit opposite the heaviest person and you’ll be right. OK. Armed with this false confidence we were spun around a few times and launched with a great whoosh down the extremely steep decline. What do you know? I was going BACKWARDS! The rest of my family, bar Maisy who was equally as terrified as I was, were thrown into hysterical fits of laughter, while I was thrown around the raft a little too much! Toby was highly amused that I maintained my screaming for the entire duration of the ride (“I didn’t want to go backwards….aaahhhh!!!) and actually thanked me afterwards for the comedy relief I provided. Glad to be of service. Ross and the kids turned around and went right back up for another ride down, minus Maisy and I of course. They were still sniggering as they reached the ride attendant at the top and they asked her if she’d heard me screaming. She thought it was a hoot and in her mocking voice said “I don’t wanna go backwards!” Hahah! Suffice to say, both Maisy and I were a little shaken and vowed from then on not to listen to any more “you’re going to love it” lines. We enjoyed the rest of our day splashing and swimming, keeping all of our adrenalin under wraps.
Now, back to the thrill seekers, they went on every ride they could, went on again and then went on again! They had a ball. They got an unlimited ride pass to the “Flowrider”, similar to the ride at White Water World on the Gold Coast, where you can ride a body board or “surf” on a small wooden board, about the size of a long skateboard. The water underneath you is constantly moving so if you fall off, you are whisked straight back up to the top. Molly, Sam, Toby, Ebony, Chelsea, Ross and Adam all tried their luck on the surfboard, all of them having at least some success standing up, albeit brief! There was another guy there who was a seasoned rider, evidenced by the fact that he even had his own board. He was a pro and made it look so easy! He gave our guys a few tips but they weren’t having as much luck as they’d hoped. Ross asked me to specifically take photos of him on sports mode on my camera, to catch every move in all its detail, which I did. Watching it back in rapid motion is quite entertaining as he looks more like he’s doing the Macarena – flailing his arms around dance move style – than surfing on a wave! Having said that, they all did an amazing job and I’m sure I would’ve just fallen flat on my face.
When asked what her favourite ride was today, Georgia told me she loved them all but The Tornado ride (exactly the same as the one on the Gold Coast) was not the most pleasant ride because of the “massive wedgie” she got while riding on it! And we thought that was a look of fear on her face…
We returned to the haven that is our house at Turtle Cove but not without a glitch from our GPS. I know I keep harping on about the GPS but we’ve been at its mercy driving around these unknown freeways and highways, not to mention the slip roads it likes to take us up from time to time and it’s driving us crazy! We moved on from Hawaiian Gloria because we couldn’t understand her accent and then moved to British Daniel who isn’t much better. Today he gave us 100 metres notice that we needed to cut across 5 lanes of traffic to make it in time to use the exit we needed (with Adam trying to follow!) Consequently we ended up on another scenic tour of parts of Oahu we hadn’t seen before. We ended up having to resort to getting out of the car and asking for directions. Keryn walked into a nearby dental surgery and asked the dentist and his receptionist “where are we?” They were great with directions and sent her on her way with a concerned nod and a “good luck!”
