Day Twenty-Two - 12/12/25

Cable Cars, Courage & Complete Carnage (in the Best Way)

With the days swapped around, today became our full excursion day. No run this morning. It was a big day ahead and an early start. We woke up, found Rosie with the kids, got ourselves sorted, and headed down for breakfast before loading into the vans around 8:30am. Not super early but early compared to previous days.

The kids and I jumped in the van with everyone else today. It was a long drive, heading in a direction we hadn’t explored yet, and trying to keep up on scooters would’ve been more stress than fun. It turned out to be a great decision. We ended up chatting with people we hadn’t really connected with before, including a lovely family originally from Israel who’ve been living in the US for the past 15 years. One of the best parts of these days is the conversations you don’t plan.

Eventually we arrived at a huge European-style precinct. Wide paved streets, grand buildings, lots of space for shops but not many in sight. Beautiful, but clearly built with future development in mind. It felt a bit surreal. Massive statues, gladiator and Spartan-style figures, totally random and totally impressive.

Then it was time for the cable car.

We were told it was big. They undersold it.

You enter through a massive building, scan your ticket, and hop into the cable car while it’s still moving, like a sideways escalator. Each car fits around 20 people. As soon as it rounded the bend, it launched upward and suddenly we were flying.

Straight out over the ocean.

Boats below, islands in the distance, turquoise water everywhere. Huge concrete pylons holding the whole thing up. The ride lasted about 10–15 minutes and didn’t disappoint for a second. Island, ocean, island, ocean. One of those moments where you just keep shaking your head at how unreal it is.

On the other side: the water park. And when I say massive, I mean you could spend three full days there and still miss things. Slides everywhere. Roller coasters. Wave riders. It was chaos in the best possible way.

We met back up with everyone and then split off for a choose-your-own-adventure day, with one rule: meet back at the entry at 5pm.

We dumped our gear in a locker, threw on our togs, and while we were still dry, Emmett decided he was ready to face a fear… the roller coaster.

It was a hike to get there. The kids jumped on a chair-swing ride while I sprinted over to check the coaster… only to find out you needed your cable car ticket to ride. Cue me sprinting all the way back across the park, grabbing the tickets (and my shoes — my feet were blistered), then running back again.

Worth it.

The coaster was all timber which is completely different to anything back home. Rattly, loud, fast, steep, and wild. I was convinced Emmett would bail at the last minute, but he was locked in. And he loved it. We all did. Honestly, I could’ve gone another six times.

Buzzing from that, we headed straight for the water.

We floated around the lazy river for a bit, then hopped off at a set of foam mat racer slides. No lines. Straight up, straight down. Kia was unstoppable, winning every race.

From there it was funnels, tubes, wave riders, and big multi-person slides. The Wave Rider nearly took my pants off. The massive round tube slide with the half-pipe section became our favourite. We rode it four or five times in a row, laughing like maniacs.

Some rides were off-limits because of earrings or clothing rules, and I didn’t want to ditch the kids, so we kept bouncing between rides together.

Lunch happened somewhere in the middle of it all. The ticket included a free beer, which felt very un-water-park-like, but I wasn’t complaining. It was also the first craft beer I’d seen since arriving. Unexpected win.

The line to get back on the cable car was huge. By the time our wave boarded, it was getting dark. We missed sunset, which would’ve been unreal, but the ride back was faster, smoother, and finished with a full fire show near the landing station. Boats lit up like Christmas trees. A pretty epic consolation prize.

Back at the accommodation, Kia took the kids to shower while I raced off to find dinner. The place we wanted was nearly sold out, so dinner became a bit of a scavenger hunt. Not exactly what we planned, but still good.

We ate down in the common area, had a few drinks with people, stayed up later than usual, and finally collapsed. Everyone was wrecked.

Huge day. Full sun. Endless stairs. Non-stop laughs. My cheeks hurt from smiling.

One of those days you know you’ll talk about for years.