New inflatable water park serves up an afternoon of fun!

One of my favourite films would fall into the extremely cheesy category. Strictly Ballroom, a 1990s Aussie comedy set in the glittery and over-the-top world of competitive ballroom dancing, never fails to put a smile on my face. For many it introduced them to the talents of director Baz Luhrmann for the first time, while for others it took us in a pre-Strictly Come Dancing era inside the madcap world of competitive ballroom dancing as we eagerly followed ugly duckling Fran and her quest to dance at the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix with the dashing dance rebel Scott.


Aside from the sequins, laughs and nifty dance routines, there is a line from the film that always comes back to me anytime I get scared or afraid to try something new or daunting. Basically, the piece of advice comes at a part of the film where dancing novice Fran doubts whether she is good enough to learn the steps in time for the big championships in just a few weeks. However, her grandmother (always the wise ones in films and in life) comes through to tell her to just go for it, don’t be afraid of falling on your ass, and if you do get back up. At least you’ve tried. Her wise words simply go like this “A life lived in fear is a life half lived”. Good advice eh! Those grannies are onto something alright, and it’s certainly a motto worth following in all aspects of life.


It came back to me as I was heading to undertake my next 'Taking the Plunge’ challenge which is a very literal title this week as I would be plunging into the cool waters of Lough Ree to do so. Just days after it opened to the public, I was getting a chance to try out Ireland’s largest inflatable water park at Baysports in Hodson Bay and facing my fears in the process. With little or no swimming ability, plunging into the water, even with a big flotation device attached to me was going to be a bit of a 'breathe in, feel the fear and do it anyway’ moment. Secondly, some of the obstacles required a bit of climbing and heights, another one of my 'challenges’ and then add in the falling into water at speed into the equation - eh you get the picture.


I had a few butterflies when I got to Baysports on Thursday, but on arrival you couldn’t help be buoyed up by the noise and excitement of the children taking part in water-based summer camps nearby. Asking a few kids as I got wet suited and booted what they thought of the new inflatable water park, which is a distinctive bright yellow and green you can’t miss from the shoreline, their feelings were very clear. 'It’s class,’ one little guy beamed at me, while his little friend simply said: 'You’ll love it’.


Right so, time to give it a whirl then. After owner Richie O’Hara took me out on a short boat ride to the water park, he handed me over to his son, George, who was my unofficial water park guide and a trained lifeguard, helpful to say the least. Incidentally, there is a trained lifeguard on the park at all times.


Climbing onto the floating water park which for all intents and purposes is a big water-based obstacle course, it initially feels like getting onto a giant water bed. It takes a moment to get your bearings, your legs are a bit wobbly and flying from side to side, but once you do it’s kind of cool. Then it becomes like a voyage of discovery - what will I try first? I started my journey with something called the iceberg, which involved me climbing up via kind of stirrups to hoist my way to the top. It was 22 degrees by then, so it took a little bit to get my coordination going, but I did, eventually. Sitting up top the view of Hodson’s pillar, a small nearby island and the general vista of Lough Ree, on a hot, summer day was simply breathtaking. Worth the admission alone, well that’s before the slide down. Holy s**t that was fast and now I’m in the water bobbing around full of adrenalin and a succession of 'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god’ voices going around my head, well, truth be told it was probably the more potty-mouthed version that was coming out of my mouth at that stage as I looked around the dark lake waters. However, when I managed to get my breath back, the excitement and the cool feeling brought a big smile on my face, and after a hard week, that was a fair achievement I can tell you.
Climbing back onto the park I ventured next for a smaller slide, less testing to climb, but still with the whoah feeling payback at the end.

By now, I was beginning to get a little more adventurous, and the inner child (well it’s not very far away anyway) was certainly coming out as I excitedly planned my next move laughing my head off at the thought of how ridiculous I looked in among the youngsters. But sure as a neighbour used to say to me 'Deirdre what’s the point of being mad if you can’t show it!’ How right he was indeed.


After a go at the Jungle Joe, a kind of inflatable climbing frame, a really cool trampoline, a few more slides I had to take a little breather, and I thought I was fit! In the heat I was certainly getting an unexpected but strangely exhilarating workout, quite different than my usual little run in Coosan.


One of my final forays around the course was certainly one of my favourites as I tried my hand at the hamster ball, which reminded  me of a Flaming Lips gig years ago at Electric Picnic. Well they were a small bit cooler, unlike the wet soppy mess I became as I gamely tried to get the hamster ball moving around the lake, with limited success as the hamster would just not go where I wanted to despite my best efforts. It brought to a hilarious (for spectators and me the participant) curtain down on one of the most exciting, exhilarating and ultimately, fun afternoons I’ve had in a long time. Taking the plunge on your own doorstep is highly recommended!