Water skiing is one of those things I’ve always fancied trying but never got round to. And the same goes for wake boarding too. So it was with some excitement that I headed out with Watersports Wanaka to try my luck on the lake.
Yep, the people who can do it look pretty cool – but like most sports which require a fair amount of balance, they’re usually a lot more difficult than they look!
First up, I tried the skis. I’ve been skiing on snow before, but skiing on water is a totally different kettle of fish. Not only are you lying in the water with your legs out in front of you but you then have to stand up as the boat pulls you forward through the water. Every time I tried it, I fell one way or the other. Sometimes it was to the left. Sometimes it was to the right. But staying upright was much harder.
The other thing I didn’t realise is that you can let go of the rope once you’ve fallen over! Getting dragged along and gulping back huge mouthfuls of water is not such a great look. It wasn’t like I was going to sink or anything. Even though I can swim, I was kitted out in wetsuit, booties and gloves to keep warm! Not that the lake was even that cold in October anyway!
After several other attempts, I tried the wakeboard, but unfortunately I found it just as difficult! I just couldn’t master the technique of launching myself up out of the water and standing upright on the board, all at the same time! It’s a mean feat I can tell you!
Then I even tried the knee board, which I wobbled on as I waited by the shoreline for the boat to take up the slack of the rope and pull me along. But, yes once again, I wobbled one way. And I wobbled the other. And every time I ended up face down in the water and not flying graciously on the water behind the boat! Ah well…you can’t be good at everything, hey? But it was still lots of fun trying.
The couple who were on the boat with me were fantastic and great to watch on the water. Matt Ellis from Southampton, admitted he had wakeboarded before, which was pretty obvious as his skills were way beyond mine, that’s for sure.``It’s a stunning place to do it and the conditions were perfect,’’ Matt said.His girlfriend Becky Coker, also from Southampton, was a beginner, but said she has snowboarded before, which may have helped her technique.
``I’m really glad I gave it a go as it’s lots of fun and the lake wasn’t even that cold,’’ Becky said.So that’s given me a bit of hope – maybe I’ll just have to keep trying and one day I’ll be cruising on the water like the rest of ‘em!
Watersports Wanaka has wakeboards, wakeskates, waterskis, kneeboards, biscuits and banana boats, so you’ll be spoilt for choice with heaps of fun things to do on the water.
They are just as happy teaching first-timers as piloting the professionals – so it can be as fast, hard and challenging as you like!
Prices start at $120 for half an hour, and includes the boat, fuel, driver, all equipment and wetsuits, tuition, with up to eight passengers and onboard tunes.
