By Casey Neill
Bangholme’s new water skiing centre is making a splash in unexpected ways.
The Melbourne Cable Park had a soft opening on Sunday 2 April and has already been inundated with water lovers keen to make waves.
The man behind the innovative park, Ian Clark, is thrilled to see his vision becoming a reality.
“The satisfaction for us comes from the smiles on the faces of the local kids and parents,” he said.
Mr Clark said not only were kids putting down their “screens” and getting active, people in wheelchairs were getting an opportunity to hit the water and indulge their inner “adrenaline junky”.
He’s had several people use a seated wakeboard on the cable system, which tows the skier in a circle around a lake in place of a boat.
It’s an opportunity Mr Clark is now actively pursuing, seeking advice on the equipment, facilities and regulations required for a full accessibility program.
“So many young people through illness or accident are in a chair and they can’t get out of bed,” he said.
“They don’t want to get out of bed, and there’s nothing for them to do. This stuff’s a game changer for these guys.
“This is a platform where we can actually change the fabric of our community.”
The Journal revealed plans for the park, adjacent to the National Watersports Centre (NWSC) on Patterson River, in February 2015.
The company developing the park, Activ, leased a grassed area that the State Government declared surplus to its needs.
In January this year, the Melbourne Cable Park opened an aqua fun park inflatable course.
“We’re just about to pack down the aqua park,” Mr Clark said.
“It will be back in September.”
Solar panels power the cable systems on the centre’s two lakes, which each used as much electricity as two washing machines.
“All the lakes are fully operational,” Mr Clark said.
He hopes a high ropes course – the final piece of the puzzle – will be open by December.
“Hopefully, by Christmas we should be fully operational,” he said.
“We have about 80 staff on our books.
“We’re expecting to have 200 people on the books by the end of this year.”
The park could attract 90,000 people to Bangholme each year, Mr Clark told the Journal, and would average about 250 visitors each day.
