Photo TR: Gold Reef City, Johannesburg, SA

[bennyrex]

It's a fun park. I was there in January of 05, and ToT and the powered mine train were closed, but I got on the shuttle looper (the only one I've been on,) the Express, and the Anaconda. Is it really the more intense then Nemesis? Dueling Dragons and Anaconda are my only experience with that kind of inverter, and I thought Anaconda was totally exhilerating, but not in a 'kick my a$$' kind of way... Definitely one of my favourites. It was kinda funny, I wanted to know who the manufacturer of the Anaconda was, and I asked the operator if the coaster was made by Bolliger and Mabillard. The operator didn't understand me, and thought I was telling him I had a heart condition, and tried to get me off the ride.

The Schwartzkopf looper was fun, because my friends had no idea it was a powered coaster. They sat there waiting for the coaster to tick-tick-tick up a lift hill (having not bothered to look at the thing at all before getting on,) then were TOTALLY shocked by the whooshing launch. It was awesome.

Other interesting facts about the park: It's also an interactive museum. You can go on mine tours, and a lot of the buildings in the village have interactive historical lesson sort of things. There's also a mini Science center in a cave that the train goes through. The train is awesome. A big Cedar Point kind of train, not a dinky little miniature train.

Also, there's a very cool Apartheid museum on the same lot. South Africa has a sad, disturbing and fascinating history. Getting to the park, you'll be driving past a lot of poverty. The museum is a good overview of the history that led to a country where such a fantastic theme park can be right next to hundreds of thousands of people living in shacks made of corrugated metal. I highly recommend spending a couple hours in the museum.

[Guy T. Koepp]

Wow! What a beautiful place. This park looks amazing! I am making a commitment as of this very moment to get there one day. I have always wanted to go to Africa. This would be a fine addition to a couple of weeks out on photo Safari.

 

I am so there!