Australian Adventure (Day 8 of 21) - FUN at Jamberoo Park

At Jamberoo Action Park

         What better way to escape the summer heat, but to go to Jamberoo Action Park. It was an extremely enjoyable and exciting Saturday as I was able to visit Australia's version of a water park where friends and family can have a great time.  It's the perfect place to cool down, create great bonding moments, get some adrenaline rush from the rides and bring out the kid in everybody.

         The park opens daily from 10 AM to 5 PM.  Children three years and below are given free admission, while children from 4-12 years and seniors aged 60 and above are charged at a rate of AUD33.  Since I didn't belong to any of those categories, (as much as my height may sometimes say otherwise), my ticket cost about AUD41.  The ticket already covered all the rides for the entire day.

         It took us about a 2-hour drive from Tita A and Tito Bru's house and we didn't even encounter any traffic on the way to the place.  The next thing I know, I could just see mountains everywhere and saw a sign welcoming us to Jamberoo.  There were plenty of parking spaces so we were able to find a spot in no time.  We arrived at the park by around 11 AM and my aunt proceeded to get us some tickets.


        Our first task was to find a good place to settle in. A bit of walking here and there, we finally arrived at a patch of grass located on an uphill side with an amazing view.  We then spread out our picnic blankets, set up the fold-able chairs and sunshades, then we were good to go.  A few minutes later, the family of Bianca (Tito Bru's sister) arrived and were setting up their things right beside us.

Where we picked our spot

Our view

        It was a bit cloudy on that day and you could feel the cold breeze drifting from the mountains every once in awhile.  But this didn't stop me from enjoying the day.  My first agenda was to go to Outback Bay where I was able to catch some internally generated waves that could reach up to 1.5 meters high.  This brought back wonderful memories with my family in a similar wave pool back in the Philippines. Tita A also joined me in the pool and with the background music of "Gangnam Style" (which is apparently also popular in Australia), we just soaked up the moment and took a couple of pictures.  I felt like I was just one of the kids, enjoying the simplicity of life, every time a wave would slap at us. The water felt colder than usual, but after some time, you can't help but get used to it.  Lifeguards were also patrolling around the perimeter so there was always a sense of safety for all the visitors.

Enjoying the wave pool

Outback Bay

                  Soon enough, I was feeling hungry, so I headed back to our spot to have some lunch.  We didn't have to buy any food since Tita A was able to pack for us.  We had some ham, chicken curry and rice, sandwiches, chips, fruits, Timtams and sodas to quench our thirst.  Though if we didn't bring any food, we would still have survived since there were various food outlets within the park.  Choices ranged from seafood, burgers, barbecues, hotdogs, and other snacks.

Packed food

            After letting the food settle down, I was ready to try out the latest and most exciting attraction: the Funnel Web slide.  I was lucky because this particular ride was just recently opened for that month. It was therefore no surprise that the queue for the ride was extremely long given that everyone wanted to try it out. It took us about an hour and a half just for us to have our turn on the adrenaline-pumping ride.  Even when we were just lining up, you could clearly hear the ear-splitting screams of those brave enough to take the ride.  I was literally shivering from the excitement and the cold (for the wind can definitely bite up there)!  Tita A was of course ready to take our video and was waiting for us on the viewing deck.

            Four of us got into the raft and with a bit of push from the park personnel, we were on one of the greatest rides of a lifetime.  I actually thought that once you get in the tunnel, there would be some light, but it was just absolute darkness.  We were all holding on tightly to the rafts and I was screaming at the top of my lungs every now and then just to release my nervousness and anxiety.  There were various twists and turns that made me dizzy after, and some breath-taking drops that didn't seem to end.  Traveling at a speed of 30 km per hour, which seemed way even faster when you're on the ride, we finally shot out into that great big funnel.  After swishing back and forth and even getting to wave at the camera for a second or two, we were plunged back into the dark twisting tunnel. After a few more moments and a couple of high-pitched screams, we were finally spit out into the open, marking the end of our ride.  The waiting time was definitely worth it and that particular experience would always be remembered in years to come.

The Funnel web from the back

          Here is a video of our thrilling ride that Tita A was able to capture: (see if you can spot me)

           Once we got our bearings back, we went to Banjo's Billabong where a huge water bucket containing around 1200 liters of cold water tips over every 10 minutes. Every time the bucket tips over, it would feel as if we were placed under a water fall, where we could feel the pressure pounding all over us.  The kids were definitely enjoying every moment as they eagerly anticipated the bucket to tip.  There were also some slides built within the structure and various water cannons, fountains and sprays for both the young and the young at heart.  Anyone who loves to play with water will definitely enjoy this attraction.

Banjo's Billabong

Waiting for the bucket to tip over 

Water fountain and sprays all over

        Another good ride that I heard about was The Taipan.  It also had plenty of twists, turns and drops.  Plus you would also be plunged again in darkness during the whole ride.  But after surviving the Funnel Web, it felt as if The Taipan slides were just a piece of cake.  The ride was fast, but it seemed to me that nothing would have beaten the speed of the Funnel Web. It was like the bar was set so high after that first thrilling ride that everything else seemed to pale in comparison.

Where we would all come out from The Taipan slides

             The next ride we went to was Surf Hill.  This was another ride similar to the one in Splash Island in the Philippines.  Thankfully, the lines weren't that long, though there were some who that thought they could cheat their way into taking another turn without falling back in line.  But thanks to the park employees who were vigilant in ensuring that everyone gets their turn in the correct way, those "cheaters" were unable to succeed.  I just tried it once since I wanted to be able to try the other rides in the park.

            Afterwards, we headed to another ride, which was the Chair Lift.  Once again there was quite a queue for this ride but I was willing to wait.  After all, once we get to the other end, we then would be able to ride the Bobsled.  The Chair Lift can carry up to two people and it provides you with an astounding panoramic view of the place, 500 meters from the ground. The wind was blowing pretty strong on our way up and I was having goosebumps all over my skin.  Despite this, I soaked up the  sights and was left in awe by its beauty. We were then asked to jump from our chair and headed to the Bobsled.

           There were basically two tracks to choose from the Bobsled.  The blue track was for the fast lane or the advanced users, while the green one was for the beginners.  Though I haven't tried it before, I felt that that the green track might be a bit boring for me so I just took the blue one.  It was definitely a fun ride  because you are able to go at a high speed as you slide down from the mountain. Plus, the views were magnificent. Unfortunately, by the time that I was almost at the end of the track, the battery of my camera died down, so it was only Tito Bru's picture that got taken.

On the Chair Lift

At the last leg

Tito Bru enjoying

                After that ride, there were just a few more minutes left before the closing of the park so we tried to squeeze in one more ride which was the Splash Out.  It had two long body slides, which were thankfully open this time. One thing's for sure, you definitely get to create a lot of splash once you reach the end of the slide.  We then went back to our place and started packing up our stuff and also cleaned up our area.  I also bought a fridge magnet as a souvenir before finally leaving the place.

                Before heading home, Tita A and Tito Bru brought me to one more stop, which was the Kiama BlowHole and the Kiama Light House.  It was just too bad that when we arrived, the waves weren't that strong so we didn't get too see it spray water even a little bit.  So we just took a couple of pictures and decided to leave it as something to return to the next time I have another chance to visit Australia.  The day was surely exhausting, but the smiles from our faces more than made up for all those body aches we got from this adventure.

Fun facts

               

Blowhole

A beautiful view

More soon.....



Jamberoo's Address and Contact Number:

1215 Jamberoo Rd, Jamberoo NSW 2533, Australia

+61 2 4236 0114 

Kiama Blowhole's Address and Contact Number:

Blowhole Point Rd, Kiama NSW 2533, Australia

Phone: +61 2 4232 3322