Gazza
Giga Poster
Normally whenever there is a long weekend here I don't let it go to waste, and get somewhere out of Brisbane.
New Zealand is nice and a place I really should have seen more of considering its our dearest neighbour, but the flights are always a bit too expensive for a long weekend trip, and of course at other times like Christmas or Easter where you have extra days.
But this time around, I noticed a week before that flights were "only" $340 AUD return on Jetstar (Air NZ were charging $800!) so I just jumped on it.
An easy hop, 3 hours from Coolangatta, left at 6pm, into Auckland by 11pm.
I won't bother with the city sightseeing stuff, instead I'll focus on some of the wierd, wonderful, expensive, but low capacity experiences NZ has.
But first, creds.
I have been to Rainbows end previously, however the one other coaster I was missing in NZ was Speedy Gonzales at Crystal Mountain:
The place is very homebrew, and AFAIK they only run the coaster on weekends in the cooler months. The cheapest way to get my lap was the lowest entry bundle plus a single ride ticket. For your efforts you get 3 laps.
The terracotta coloured building contained a large kids soft play structure and a few italian flat rides. The park also had an old mcdonald style tractor ride, and land train that went around the park, some animals, and a good collection of geodes (hence the park name!)
After a bit of a drive to some beaches and up to the north shore I ended the day up on Mangawahu / Mt Eden, one of several dormant volcanoes around Auckland
The next day I headed to Rotorua, its just under 3h drive from Auckland.
SORRY I DIDNT GO TO HOBBITON ON THE WAY ILL DO THAT NEXT TIME.
This place is historically a bit touristy due to the various thermal springs and the lake. Parts of the lake and the district in general stink due to the hydrogen sulfide bubbling up area. It stinks bad sometimes, like fart, burning rubber, gas leak smell and bullion cubes mixed together.
The place has what I'd call "experimental" adventure attractions. Stuff that is too low capacity for a theme park, but still a definite ride or experience.
Velocity Valley has a SCAD tower type thing, a jet boat, a skycoaster type thing, a home made ifly skydive giant fan thing but my target was Schweeb, a high speed dueling pedal monorail.
The owner of it has illusions that it will be the tech of the future for transportation, but the capacity is too low, only 2 people racing, you get 3 laps + a braking lap, For $55! What an absurd amount to spend, but it it will be a 1 of kind ride nobody else would buy without major changes, so i'll be able to lord it over everyone in 4 decades when people will ask "Hey does anyone remember that schweeb thing at Rotorua?"
Its not bad, but just bad value for money.
After a bit of exertion you pick up speed to the point your little pedal pod is swinging and you get turns on the drops. So the feeling is better than the racing aspect and quite fun. Its just like being on an arrow suspended but with more violent swinging on the turns.
Honestly, if they just made this a single longer circuit, you could pump people through it and not have to charge stupid prices, and could design it for multiple turns.
Anyhow i did it.
I forked out another $60 to visit the national Kiwi hatchery.
These small dopey flightless birds are the NZ national icon (ironically the kiwi is the symbol of the NZ air force) are bad at staying alive, though to be fair they have to deal with feral introduced species like stoats. Anyhow, cute babby kiwi time:
Zorbing....
Ok this one is actually good. I have seen this on TV since i was about 7 or 8.
Back in the wild west, you would actually be strapped by your wrist and ankles and waist inside the ball, and sent rolling down the hill in the worlds worst zacspin.
But it wasnt that popular, there were issues with the balls getting too hot like a greenhouse, people spraypainting the inside due to nausea and subsequently getting splashed due to the rolling action.
So they dont do this, but what was more popular anyway was wet zorbing, where they put some water in the ball, seal it up, and then roll you down a hill. It is then more like being in a atlas sphere or a hamster ball, with the ball rotating around you, and inside its like a never ending waterslide.
Its well set up, There are hot tubs top and bottom for cold days so you can warm up between runs. (the inside of the ball does use warm water), even though it was 18c outside it was fine. Note the wierd clothelines style chairlift carrying zorb balls to the top. Passengers get no such luxury, you pile into a van with soggy seats and are driven to the top of the hill.
So again, its a great idea, but sooo staff intensive, and they use a lot of water with each ball fill...Result, 3 runs cost me $120.
There are several tracks, a straight one, a bigger straight one, and the two zig zag ones.
The straight one was quite cool actually. Because the ball is see through, and you sit about 1m off the ground, you get this strange sensation where it feels like you are constantly sliding off the edge of a cliff. You pick up speed, and the inside of the zorb ball is textured like a giant soft golfball, so a bit of sybian/ steel curtain style vibration on the way down.
At the bottom of the ride, an operator rolls you around unzips and points the hole at the ground, and you sort of just slither out and land on the turf in a puddle of warm water, like a sort of "waters breaking" moment. lowkey one of the best parts of the whole attraction.
The other two courses were more comedic due to the turns. Your ball is constantly stalling and changing direction and the track is more bouncy, so it is a bit like a washing machine. You spin around heaps, and the stalls feel just like being on boomerango / tantrum style slide. Like a very aggressive but bouncy water slide. By the end of the run, id had my fill.
In hindsight I should have just got the 4 ride package to do the big straight one, since that would have been ace, i didn't. Next time.
Finally, Skyline Rotorua. $120 for cable car plus 5 goes down the luge , 1 per track.
Its a huge operation, Sleds are similar to wiegand ones, with a control lever. The difference is you have to steer, and you can overtake, so its really quite fun.
You can go as fast as you want, and the overtaking is kind of fun, gives your bobsled ride that go kart feel really. There were tunnels on the way down with lighting effects. I should have arrived later for night rides for more impacted, but i wanted dinner, so bailed just as the sun was setting.
There are 5 tracks, each with 2 start points to increase capacity. The tracks merge, and then there are 5 choices with various branches. Personally i would have been cool with 3 laps in hindsight, because a lot of the tracks are just "alt routes" you can take off the main one but they arent all that different.
The lifter system is quite cool, the carts at the bottom kind of line up in pairs in return chutes under the chair lift. Hooks under each chair pick up 1 cart or 2, carry it to the top, and then mechanically depoist them into the loading area at the top.
This isn't all I did in NZ in my brief 3 day jaunt, can post more stuff if there is any interest.
New Zealand is nice and a place I really should have seen more of considering its our dearest neighbour, but the flights are always a bit too expensive for a long weekend trip, and of course at other times like Christmas or Easter where you have extra days.
But this time around, I noticed a week before that flights were "only" $340 AUD return on Jetstar (Air NZ were charging $800!) so I just jumped on it.
An easy hop, 3 hours from Coolangatta, left at 6pm, into Auckland by 11pm.
I won't bother with the city sightseeing stuff, instead I'll focus on some of the wierd, wonderful, expensive, but low capacity experiences NZ has.
But first, creds.
I have been to Rainbows end previously, however the one other coaster I was missing in NZ was Speedy Gonzales at Crystal Mountain:
Gonzales Roller Coaster - Crystal Mountain (Henderson Valley, Auckland, New Zealand)
Looking for statistics on the fastest, tallest or longest roller coasters? Find it all and much more with the interactive Roller Coaster Database.
rcdb.com
The terracotta coloured building contained a large kids soft play structure and a few italian flat rides. The park also had an old mcdonald style tractor ride, and land train that went around the park, some animals, and a good collection of geodes (hence the park name!)
After a bit of a drive to some beaches and up to the north shore I ended the day up on Mangawahu / Mt Eden, one of several dormant volcanoes around Auckland
The next day I headed to Rotorua, its just under 3h drive from Auckland.
SORRY I DIDNT GO TO HOBBITON ON THE WAY ILL DO THAT NEXT TIME.
This place is historically a bit touristy due to the various thermal springs and the lake. Parts of the lake and the district in general stink due to the hydrogen sulfide bubbling up area. It stinks bad sometimes, like fart, burning rubber, gas leak smell and bullion cubes mixed together.
The place has what I'd call "experimental" adventure attractions. Stuff that is too low capacity for a theme park, but still a definite ride or experience.
Velocity Valley has a SCAD tower type thing, a jet boat, a skycoaster type thing, a home made ifly skydive giant fan thing but my target was Schweeb, a high speed dueling pedal monorail.
The owner of it has illusions that it will be the tech of the future for transportation, but the capacity is too low, only 2 people racing, you get 3 laps + a braking lap, For $55! What an absurd amount to spend, but it it will be a 1 of kind ride nobody else would buy without major changes, so i'll be able to lord it over everyone in 4 decades when people will ask "Hey does anyone remember that schweeb thing at Rotorua?"
Its not bad, but just bad value for money.
After a bit of exertion you pick up speed to the point your little pedal pod is swinging and you get turns on the drops. So the feeling is better than the racing aspect and quite fun. Its just like being on an arrow suspended but with more violent swinging on the turns.
Honestly, if they just made this a single longer circuit, you could pump people through it and not have to charge stupid prices, and could design it for multiple turns.
Anyhow i did it.
I forked out another $60 to visit the national Kiwi hatchery.
These small dopey flightless birds are the NZ national icon (ironically the kiwi is the symbol of the NZ air force) are bad at staying alive, though to be fair they have to deal with feral introduced species like stoats. Anyhow, cute babby kiwi time:Zorbing....
Ok this one is actually good. I have seen this on TV since i was about 7 or 8.
Back in the wild west, you would actually be strapped by your wrist and ankles and waist inside the ball, and sent rolling down the hill in the worlds worst zacspin.
But it wasnt that popular, there were issues with the balls getting too hot like a greenhouse, people spraypainting the inside due to nausea and subsequently getting splashed due to the rolling action.
So they dont do this, but what was more popular anyway was wet zorbing, where they put some water in the ball, seal it up, and then roll you down a hill. It is then more like being in a atlas sphere or a hamster ball, with the ball rotating around you, and inside its like a never ending waterslide.
Its well set up, There are hot tubs top and bottom for cold days so you can warm up between runs. (the inside of the ball does use warm water), even though it was 18c outside it was fine. Note the wierd clothelines style chairlift carrying zorb balls to the top. Passengers get no such luxury, you pile into a van with soggy seats and are driven to the top of the hill.
So again, its a great idea, but sooo staff intensive, and they use a lot of water with each ball fill...Result, 3 runs cost me $120.
There are several tracks, a straight one, a bigger straight one, and the two zig zag ones.
The straight one was quite cool actually. Because the ball is see through, and you sit about 1m off the ground, you get this strange sensation where it feels like you are constantly sliding off the edge of a cliff. You pick up speed, and the inside of the zorb ball is textured like a giant soft golfball, so a bit of sybian/ steel curtain style vibration on the way down.
At the bottom of the ride, an operator rolls you around unzips and points the hole at the ground, and you sort of just slither out and land on the turf in a puddle of warm water, like a sort of "waters breaking" moment. lowkey one of the best parts of the whole attraction.
The other two courses were more comedic due to the turns. Your ball is constantly stalling and changing direction and the track is more bouncy, so it is a bit like a washing machine. You spin around heaps, and the stalls feel just like being on boomerango / tantrum style slide. Like a very aggressive but bouncy water slide. By the end of the run, id had my fill.
In hindsight I should have just got the 4 ride package to do the big straight one, since that would have been ace, i didn't. Next time.
Finally, Skyline Rotorua. $120 for cable car plus 5 goes down the luge , 1 per track.
Its a huge operation, Sleds are similar to wiegand ones, with a control lever. The difference is you have to steer, and you can overtake, so its really quite fun.
You can go as fast as you want, and the overtaking is kind of fun, gives your bobsled ride that go kart feel really. There were tunnels on the way down with lighting effects. I should have arrived later for night rides for more impacted, but i wanted dinner, so bailed just as the sun was setting.
There are 5 tracks, each with 2 start points to increase capacity. The tracks merge, and then there are 5 choices with various branches. Personally i would have been cool with 3 laps in hindsight, because a lot of the tracks are just "alt routes" you can take off the main one but they arent all that different.
The lifter system is quite cool, the carts at the bottom kind of line up in pairs in return chutes under the chair lift. Hooks under each chair pick up 1 cart or 2, carry it to the top, and then mechanically depoist them into the loading area at the top.
This isn't all I did in NZ in my brief 3 day jaunt, can post more stuff if there is any interest.
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