By Mitchell Clarke
Nothing screams summer quite like the thrills and spills of wave pools and water slides. All that and more will be on offer these summer holidays at Gumbuya World.
The adventure park in Tynong has begun its stage two expansion which will see the theme park’s water world, Oasis Springs almost double in size.
Victoria’s most impressive wave pool will join a big open beach, kids play area and six new slides including four racer slides and two new twisters to form the reinvigorated Oasis Springs themed area.
“We’ve had our busiest summer thanks to the thousands of Victorians and tourists walking through our doors each day over the last two months,” Gumbuya World Business Director Ron Weinzierl said.
“We received such strong support from the community and our customers since Gumbuya World re-opened in December 2017, and we want to say thank you to everyone who has visited over the last year.
The themed area currently houses the ‘boomerang’ and ‘taipan’ slides, Typhoon Island, a 300 metre lazy river, heated rock pools and surf’s up zone.
“We’re looking forward to introducing an even bigger Oasis Springs in time for the summer school holidays this year,” Mr Weinzierl said.
“We’ll be ready for December but we’re hoping to do some trials for the spring school holidays.”
The park will invest upwards of $5 million for the water activity. The money will be privately funded by a group of entrepreneurs including Ron and his brother Ray Weinzierl, Gerry Ryan, Wal Pisciotta, Adam Campbell and Brett Murray.
“We’ve got other activations throughout the park that will add more fun for everyone,” Mr Weinzierl said.
“We’ll update our cafes and we’re going to put a new fish and chip shop in because we want to make sure people come and don’t have to wait for food.”
This expansion is part of a major redevelopment for Gumbuya World which is set to continue over the next three years.
50 new attractions, a chocolate factory, a micro brewery and a range of onsite accommodation is all part of the grand plan, with Indigenous, dinosaur and wool shed precincts being scheduled to provide schools a place for educational programs.
“The park is nature based, it’s authentic and I think for the south-east and all our local people, we’re really looking forward to continuing to develop this into what it can be, for Victoria and Internationally,” Mr Weinzierl said.
“The key for me is the support we get from our community and from our shareholders.”
By 2022, it’s anticipated that Gumbuya World will attract a million visitors each year from around Australia and the globe – ensuring tourism remains strong in Victoria and the Gippsland region.
