It’s black, so black you rely on the sense of touch as you race downhill through an enclosed tube before exploding into blinding daylight.
The water rushes along with you through unexpected twists and dips as your body bumps the sides of an enclosed waterslide known as the Blackout.
There’s no point trying to count the 121 metres you travel. They are gone in a moment, but the adrenalin rush lives on in memory.
The Blackout is one of 12 rides at Whittlesea’s Funfields amusement park, now in its 27th year of operation on a hillside on the outskirts of town.
Open from September to April, it is, as the name suggests, all about fun.
Park manager Liz Verga says tens of thousands of visitors from all over the state enjoy the rides each year.
Surprisingly, it is not the modern rides that attract the most attention. The park opened in 1985 with a single attraction – a steel toboggan run that follows the contours of a hill. This ride still has ‘‘the biggest queues’’, Verga says.
Fun, fast and furious, the toboggan slide starts at the top of the hill with scenic views of the countryside. These are quickly forgotten as you hurtle down 800 metres with the wind pulling at your hair. For the faint-hearted, the toboggans have a joystick to control the speed.
If you feel the need to cool off, there are many water-based rides including the Bumper Boats located where else but in Bumpa Bay where children stage aquatic ‘‘warfare’’ using their craft to bump ‘‘enemies’’ like bumper cars.
The Wacky Waters playground has interactive play features, water cannons, water jets and a slide, as well as a wading area for little ones.
But if the need is for speed, then there’s the Wipe Out waterslide where you plunge 130 metres through a series of rapid twists and turns, or the two Splashdown 65-metre waterslides.
Landlubbers have other rides to satisfy them, including the Pirate Ship that swings above the park and the Snakes Alive cup and saucer ride. Verga says there are also go-karts and mini-golf.
“It’s for anyone and any age, but we target families with young children,’’ she says. ‘‘And once you have a ticket, you can go on any ride as many times as you like.”
* Entry is free for children under 100cm, $30 for children between 100cm and 141cm, $35 for adults over 142cm, and $25 for seniors. The park, at 2365 Plenty Road, Whittlesea, is open until 5.30pm daily. Details: funfields.com.au
