Gumbuya World (formerly Gumbuya Park) is an amusement park in Tynong North in

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. The park was opened in 1978 and its investors include

Gerry Ryan Gerard Ryan (4 June 1956 – 30 April 2010) was an Irish people, Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented ''The Gerry Ryan Show'' on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1 ...

(founder and owner of Jayco Australia) and Wal Pisciotta (owner of

Carsales CAR Group Limited (formerly carsales.com Limited), known as CAR Group, is a global digital marketplace company operating primarily in Oceania, Asia and The Americas and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. CAR Group has wholly owned ...

). The park contains various rides and attractions ranging from water slides to roller coasters and wildlife exhibits. Its two major waterslides are the Boomerango and the Taipan. The park also features a lazy river ride, giant water playground, wave simulator, fun-for-all roller coaster, suspended family coaster, thrilling skyloop coaster, tree swing, train ride, dodgem cars, and a berry twirl ride for young children. There is also an exhibit featuring dingoes, lizards, crocodiles, koalas, aviaries and wallabies which incorporates a petting zoo.

History

Originally a

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

farm, the facility was converted into a

wildlife park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...

in 1978 by the late Ron Rado. In October 2011, vandals attached a powerful explosive charge to the large pheasant statue at the entrance to the park and blew out its rear end. That followed earlier vandalism, including the theft of mini cars and motor karts. In September 2016, Gumbuya Park was sold for $4.65 million to a group of investors which included

and

founder Wal Pisciotta, Adam Campbell, Brett Murray, and Ray Weinzierl to buy the park and upgrade it into a more ambitious Theme Park.

Rides and attractions

Outback Explorers * Berry Twirl * Outback Pirates ship * Desert Derby dodgem cars * Truck Convoy (leads to Gerry's Roadhouse) * Ray's Express (takes visitors through Gumbuya World) * Outback Pursuit Wildlife Trail * Koala and Dingo exhibit * Walkthrough Aviary and Wallaby trail * Critter Cave (featuring insects, lizards and baby crocodiles) * Petting Zoo The area contains 52 species of different animals in a bushland setting.

References

External links

* Amusement parks in Victoria (state) 1978 establishments in Australia Entertainment companies established in 1978 {{amusement-park-stub