New ride for thrillseekers at Jamberoo

EMMA SPILLETT

JAMBEROO Action Park will open its doors to one of the biggest thrill water-rides in the Southern Hemisphere on Saturday.

The Taipan, named after its "snaking" passages, consists of two giant double waterslides, both 160m long, which plunge the rider around various twists and turns.

And if that isn't scary enough " the entire trip is completely in the dark!

Gai Swords, marketing director for Jamberoo Action Park, believes the new ride will lift the profile of the park by appealing to an older age bracket.

"This ride is for true thrill-seekers " the darkness combined with all the unexpected twists and turns means it is not for the faint-hearted," she said.

The Taipan is the first group ride of its kind and one of the only group rides at the park. It seats up to five people and promises to give all its riders one of the biggest thrills of their life.

Jamberoo Action Park general manager Dax Eddy believes the ride will have a significant impact on visitation levels. He expects to increase visitation to more than 400,000 people " 100,000 up on 2006.

"We are anticipating a large increase on the number of people visiting the park and are extremely happy with the expected impact of the ride on visitation and the performance of the Park itself," Mr Eddy said.

Mr Eddy also believes the Taipan will appeal to families, who can enjoy sharing all the thrills of the experience.

"This ride is action-packed and heart-stopping and family groups will love it because it is also nice and quick," he said.

Marketing for the Park in 2007 has focused on the capacity of the Taipan and its ability to seat up to 2500 people an hour " a capacity that can only now be achieved by the combination of four separate rides within the Park.

The ride's construction began in April and has taken more than six months to build due to weather issues, which hampered work.

The Taipan opens just in time for the October school holidays and aims to give its riders a "terrifyingly fun experience".