I’ve long felt the three months that represent summer weather best are not actually the three months of summer.
Rarely do I find myself swimming in December, yet regularly, I find myself swimming in March.
Just last weekend we took advantage of Whittlesea’s water theme park Funfields’ end-of-season discounts, snaring a private poolside bungalow for all-day use for half the price it would be throughout the summer.
And we spent our day there under a sun that was sending down a toasty 33°C.
There was no suffering through sub-par summer temperatures for the sake of saving a few bucks — we got the full experience and saved those dollars.
I find these places are also quieter once summer is over, and for someone who doesn’t love huge crowds or wave pools that potentially have a larger ratio of wee than water in them, it’s a better time to visit.
A gamble? Maybe. You can’t always guarantee you’re going to get a hot day on your days off outside the season, but nor can you guarantee getting a hot day even in summer unless you’re booking within a couple of days and trust the meteorologists’ forecasts.
Just out of Bendigo, there’s a tiny place home to a great big water slide called the Big Bendi Water Slide.
Shepp veterans, my vintage, might remember the old, impressive, twisty water slide that graced the western shore of Victoria Park Lake many moons ago.
Well, this one reminds me of just that.
You can find this big fibreglass structure peeking out through the ironbark trees in the forest it’s nestled in, right next to a pub called the Bush Pig Inn.
Somewhere nearby there are horse trail rides and bush cabins to stay in, too.
But in summer, this place — only 120km from Shepparton — is the ideal location to spend a warm day on a budget if you want to do something a little more exciting than run through a sprinkler on the back lawn.
Slides are just $1 each when you buy five or 10, but you can get unlimited rides for not much more.
Usually, when attractions are that cheap, I find you get stung in some other way, but if you don’t want to buy food from the kiosk there or order food and drinks from the adjacent Bush Pig Inn, you can take your own Esky (including alcohol, so long as it’s not in glass) and picnic if you want, or even make use of the free barbecues and cook your lunch.
Unlike aquatic centres and theme parks, non-swimming spectators can enter for free with their swimming companions.
When we first stumbled across this place a few years back, we entered cautiously, wondering what the catch was.
But we’ve been many times since then and quickly learned there’s no catch.
It’s just good old-fashioned relaxed fun with good old-fashioned prices to match (that haven’t increased in all those years since our first visit).
The Big Bendi Water Slide is only open on weekends outside school holidays, from 10am to 7pm, but can be hired out any other day for private functions.
If you’ve got kids of different ages — some who’d like to ride the slide and some who’d just like a paddle — there’s a toddler pool within the park for younger and less-confident kids while your older ones wear themselves out climbing flight after flight of steps to the top.
If I remember rightly, the operator once told me there’s no official season-end date; it’s just dictated by the weather.
Which, judging by the long-range forecasts of the meteorologists (that you may or may not trust), we still have a few weekends left to ride.
And at this time of year, as swimming season fizzles out, the wee-to-water ratio surely has to be in favour of the latter.
DETAILS
What: The Big Bendi Water Slide
Where: 109 Watson St, White Hills
Open: Saturdays and Sundays, 10am to 7pm. Other days by private function booking.
Cost: $5 for five slides; $10/10 slides; $15/unlimited slides; $49/family (4) unlimited slides; non-swimmers free.
Website: bigbendi.com.au