Wake Park fights force of nature to stay open
IT was well past midnight when the team at the Gold Coast Wake Park finally won its battle against raging flood waters.
Drenched and exhausted after working against the current from sun up on Thursday, three staff members successfully worked to protect the jumps, inflatable slides and other gear at the Oxenford property.
Anxious owner Daniel Watkins said he arrived at the water park about 6am on Thursday.
After the park suffered devastating flood damage in 2017, he said he could not afford to start again.
“I wasn’t letting that happen,” he said.
“The bridge is the first to get flooded over the property so there were only a few of us who got here in time to work.”
Jumping into their flood emergency plan, the group tied down assets and spent the rest of the day on the water, guiding logs away from the property.
“There were three of us on the island to save the whole park,” Mr Watkins said.
“We saw massive, massive trees and logs coming down the Coomera River, bigger than cars and trucks.
“I was on my jet ski guiding them out of the way.
“By 1am the water had gone down enough for us to leave. It was a huge day, but we avoided a lot of major damage.”
The clean-up efforts continued yesterday, when about 80 volunteers helped clear the wake park of smaller debris.
“It was a hectic day. I was exhausted and to arrive to a group of people willing to help out is so good.
“They arrived with trucks, excavator, shovels and wheelbarrow – we might now by able to open Monday.
“As a small business we have been closed for three days already.
“If we can open Monday that is five days in total, that is a big hit.
“Given our yearly revenue is mostly made during the summer time, this can be devastating, but to see the people from your own community here happy to help means everything to me.”