Back to Sydney where we went up the Sydney Tower – great views over the city.
We got the concession rate which included the ‘OzTrek amazing virtual reality ride across Australia’ – great. The designers had hit upon the idea of enhancing the IMAX experience by animating the seats so that they moved in synchronicity with the pictures. The problem was, as any engineer knows, is bridging the gap between an idea and an implementation – this is where OzTrek failed. We were strapped into the seats like the rides at Alton Towers and the experience began. It started with a few shuddering jolts to the spine reminiscent of driving a Ford Prefect over cobbles. The jolts occurred at a frequency and in a direction totally unrelated to the images on the screen but after a few minutes the jostling stopped and I started to search my mouth for loose fillings. But no, the wretched experience was not over and was about to be further enhanced by the illumination of two side viewing screens (which never actually illuminated) and more relentless thumping. At the conclusion which seemed to last an eternity, we felt decidedly queasy and trampled which put us off beer for a good half hour.
So be warned ‘OzTrek – an award winning way of becoming acquainted with your spinal column and breakfast!’
