After years of watching others zipping around on jet-skis on the waterways of the Gold Coast it was exhilarating to finally give it a go ourselves. Braeden always gets so excited seeing the jet-skis making waves so I was keen to give him the chance to hop on board one. I wasn’t sure if it would be possible but after speaking with Kate from Gold Coast Watersports I sensed the team had a can-do attitude and if Braeden was safe to ride a jet-ski he’d be able to do it. Jet-skiing was a success and the whole family had a blast. It is always more special when we can do an activity together.
Gold Coast Watersports – jet-ski tour
Gold Coast Watersports is centrally located in the heart of Surfers Paradise so it’s convenient for those travelling without a car as it is within easy walking or wheeling distance from many of the major hotels and easily accessible by the local tram service.
We had an absolutely stunning warm winter’s day for our tour so we slapped on the sunscreen and happily popped on our swimmers. As it turns out, you don’t get particularly wet – that’s as long as you don’t fall off and we didn’t see anyone do that so wearing summer clothes would be fine.
After checking in for our tour we had a safety briefing which included information about the speed we could go, the distance we needed to keep between us and the other jet-skis and the various hand signals that would be used by our guides to communicate with us out on the water.
Everyone was fitted with life vests and it was then time to hit the water. As I mentioned above, we changed into swimmers when we arrived at Gold Coast Watersports but this was unnecessary and challenging as the bathroom onsite is small like an airline bathroom. If you wish to do the tour in swimmers we suggest changing before you arrive, otherwise it would be fine to do the tour in shorts and a t-shirt.
The pontoon where the jet-skis are parked is a short level wheel/walk around the corner from the Gold Coast Watersports office.
There is a gangway from the path to the pontoon. A small step is at the end of the gangway. Braeden’s wheelchair bumped down it easily. We then left Braeden’s wheelchair at the dock. If you are concerned about leaving a chair you could return it to the office to be stored or take something to lock it. We left all our bags in a locker in the office.
The floating pontoon where the jet-skis sit is floating and is wobbly when you step on it but relatively stable and didn’t cause Braeden any problems with Hubby’s support. There is a step down to the floating pontoon.
The jet-skis are quite wide to straddle so this should be taken into consideration if someone has any restrictions with flexibility. Braeden sat in front of Hubby on the jet-ski and we took a piece of non-slip matting with us to put under Braeden to help give him as much stability on the seat as possible.
It’s never easy reaching the steering when you have to go around someone but Hubby managed and the boys had a successful ride. The team from Gold Coast Watersports kept a close eye on the boys and they rode at the back of the tour with a guide alongside them most of the time. Our thirty minute river run was fun and exhilarating. Although we kept up with the group I didn’t feel like we were pressured in any way to go faster than we were comfortable.
Undercover accessible parking is available nearby at Bruce Bishop Car park, located at 10 Beach Road, Surfers Paradise. Cars with a current accessible parking permit are exempt from parking fees, you’ll just need to use the call button on exit to alert staff.
You can contact the team at Gold Coast Watersports via their website.
If you have access needs, I highly recommend speaking to the team before making a booking so you can book with confidence.
We were hosted by Destination Gold Coast for our jet-ski adventure but as always, the smiles and review is reflective of our experience.
