We visited Currumbin Wildlife Park during our week on the Gold Coast for the I’m a Backpacker competition. Our main activities for the day were; a Segway tour and to cuddle a Koala – I had always wanted to cuddle a Koala and it was something I never did on my previous Oz trip. Needless to say I was pretty excited to finally cuddle one of these overly cute things. The Segway tour I was less excited about, I had never been interested in segwaying and didn’t see the point of it when I had my own legs. Within minutes of being on the Segway my mind was completely changed.
5 Reasons Why I Love Segwaying
1 – Awesome Instructor – Segway Pete as he was named, runs the Segway tours at Currumbin and what an amazing job he does. This project of tours is his baby and he has tested the Segway’s for hours to make sure he knows how to make you the safest. He spent time with all of us one on one to make sure we understood how to ride them and keep ourselves safe. Having an awesome instructor who really loves Segwaying made the whole experience even better. He made sure our tour was fun and interesting so we would come away raving about it.
2 – Such a quick way to see something when you are short on time – One thing that I loved about Segwaying is you still get to see everything like you would on foot, hear the sounds and smells of a place but you got to see it at a much faster pace with taking a taxi or train around a place. I could really imagine taking a tour in a city with a Segway and feeling I still got as much out of a city as if I had explored it by foot. We all know I love to explore new places by foot over public transport!
3 – I felt totally safe – After Pete spent some time explaining and then a one on one with me I really felt like I understood the Segway. Riding a Segway is very easy and safe – you stand in the middle of the machine and get your balance, this should keep you still. From here you can lean forward to go forward, lean backwards to go backwards and turn the handle in the direction you want to turn. It will easily go up and down hill all you need to do is lean forward hard to go up hill and lean backwards hard to go downhill. Beyond this if you don’t lean in the right direction hard enough the Segway then has an automatic slow down if you are going downhill – it can cleverly work out when you are going up and down hills! I was a little wary as I was only just heavy enough to ride the machine but I had absolutely no problems. By the end we were all wanted to speed around like maniacs!
Rocking the orange Crocs on my Segway
4 – I felt cool not stupid – When I had thought about Segways before I just thought about how stupid you looked riding them. When it came for me to try one out, I had to put a pair of crocs on to do so. Top Tip: wear close toed shoes to Segway. I was last to get on my Segway and had watched the rest of my group awkwardly get on. However as soon as I was up and balanced I felt as cool as can be, I would happily of Segwayed down a street not caring who saw me on a Segway I felt that cool. It was such a quirky way to get around and sure beat walking.
5 – It can go anywhere – As I mentioned in point three the Segway will take you up and down hills while making you feel very safe. By hill I don’t just mean a little slope I mean a proper big hill, they will happily take you up and down. In my mind perfect for getting around the hilly city of San Francisco! Not only do they go up and down hill but they work on grass, dirt, tarmac etc. and will even go over objects such as a rope closing off a path. The Segway is a very clever machine and is extremely versatile. It certainly makes getting around an uneven city much, much quicker!
I loved Segwaying so much more than I could ever have expected. Our tour around the Wildlife Park was supposed to be a wildlife tour however all of us backpacker adrenaline junkies were far more interested in going fast or testing its limits on the hills. That being said I can imagine taking a Segway tour of a city instead of a walking tour in years to come. Once you have had a chance to really play with the machine you can settle down and enjoy the tour you are on.
