There were smiles, spills and the occasional wedgie as thousands of thrill-seekers thundered down Port Kembla’s Military Road on a giant water slide at the weekend.
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Yellow tubes were the fashion accessory of the moment as ticket-holders queued for their chance to race down the 325-metre City Slider, in one of the many sold-out sessions during the two-day event.
While some of the 6500-strong crowd braved the rapid descent in budgie smugglers or bikinis, others donned less traditional costumes to capture the spirit of the event.
‘‘We’ve had a lot of onsies, one-piece body suits and a group from the area who each had a letter on their shirts to spell out ‘Port Kembla’,’’ The City Slider co-founder Stuart Harris said.
‘‘There were also couple guys dressed up as wrestle-mania characters and the LJ Hooker bear went down, which would’ve been interesting because he couldn’t see anything.
‘‘The atmosphere has been fantastic, there have been heaps of smiling faces. Everyone has really seemed to have embraced it in this area.’’
Wollongong is the fifth city the touring water slide has visited, and the first venue organisers have been forced to add an extra day to cope with the overwhelming demand.
Donations from the event ticket sales raised $12,000 for cancer charity CanTeen, with further proceeds from sausage sizzles yet to be counted.
The fun was held up momentarily on Saturday as organisers rushed to repair a section of the slide that was slashed.
Mr Harris said it did little to dampen peoples’ spirits.
‘‘I think they like a good thrill-ride here in the Illawarra because they have certainly embraced it, even more so than at previous places.’’