"Are you afraid of heights?" asks the person in front of me. "A little," I reply. "Don't worry," he says, reassuringly, "even The Wiggles have done this." 

With that spirit-crushing sentiment still ringing in my ears, I step out into the open air from the 77th floor of the Q1 Resort building. As seems compulsory with these sorts of activities, I'm wearing a fetching grey fatsuit – I mean, jumpsuit – but more importantly I'm tethered to a metal railing by two harnesses that can each hold 2.2 tonnes (the exact weight I will no doubt look in all the photos).

I follow the climbers in front as we ascend a steep staircase to join the main climbing route, a sweeping metal stairway that loops up to a height of 270 metres, making this Australia's highest external building climb. 

When we reach the top the views are so spellbinding that I genuinely forget I'm perched on a precarious-looking metal walkway hundreds of metres above the ground. Dazzling white sand beaches stretch up and down the coast, bordered on one side by mouthwash-blue ocean peppered with surfers and on the other by a maze of manmade canals lined with palatial homes.

According to our enthusiastic guide, Rach, the Gold Coast has nine times more canals than Venice. She also points out Mt Warning in NSW on the horizon and the Gold Coast's first high-rise, the 10-storey heritage-listed Kinkabool, which is now dwarfed on all sides by towering skyscrapers.

We spend the last few minutes taking photos and in a rush of view-induced bravado I lie down and get a shot of me with my head sticking out over the edge. I bet The Wiggles didn't do that.

"You'll be fine," says Leigh. "We've had a blind lady, someone in a wheelchair and a three-year-old do this." I'm sensing a theme here. To be fair, this isn't my first time at an iFLY indoor skydiving centre. I've had a go at the one in Sydney, which was every bit as fun as it looked and a good deal less stressful than flinging yourself out of a plane at 14,000 feet.

The system works by blasting air at up to 230km/h through a circular glass chamber to create a vertical wind tunnel. Leigh explains that all we have to do is "relax, lean into the wind and look up".

Kitted out once again in a fetching all-in-one jumpsuit, I plunge into the chamber and try to follow Leigh's hand gestures to keep my chin up and my legs bent. It's a peculiar feeling, floating on a cushion of air, and you soon learn that the slightest adjustment can send you careering towards the side.

Eventually, it starts to come back to me and I have the occasional joyous moment when I manage to stay motionless for a few seconds without Leigh's assistance. 

As with my previous attempt in Sydney, the highlight of the experience is the iFLY High, an optional extra where an instructor takes you on a dizzying joyride up to the top of the chamber and back down again. He then proceeds to do a jaw-dropping demonstration of twirls, somersaults and spins that is all the more impressive when you know just how difficult it is.

"Hands up if it's your first time in a jet boat," asks Dechlan, our skipper. "Me too!" he says grinning.

The jokes might be old but the experience is anything but staid. We're sitting in the Gold Coast's largest and most powerful purpose-built jet boat. Thanks to a 5.8-litre, 650-horsepower turbo-charged engine coupled with twin Hamilton Jet units, it can expel a staggering 50,000 litres of water a minute and reach speeds of more than 80 kilometres per hour.

But all that's to come. First we cruise sedately along the Broadwater estuary, past marinas full of gleaming powerboats and a parade of multimillion-dollar riverfront homes.

Eventually, we reach the freestyle area where Dechlan declares, "This is where the fun starts." He looks remarkably happy – almost exactly like someone whose job allows him to make people scream uncontrollably and return them soaking wet without any repercussions.

And to his credit, he does an excellent job of both. He launches into a thrilling, high-speed routine of spins, fish tails and power stops. We skim past South Stradbroke Island before looping back around for one final blast that culminates in several lunch-threatening 360-degree spins. It's wet, wild and lots of fun.

By the end of Michael's safety briefing, I'm having second thoughts. "Stay within the white bubbles of my wake otherwise you'll run aground," he says, seriously. "Make sure you keep at least 60 metres apart and give way to everything, because if you hit something the jet ski will crack like an egg."

Hmmm...perhaps I could just watch from the shore? I tentatively climb aboard a state-of-the-art Yamaha jet ski and Michael gets our group to loop around a practice circuit a few times. He explains that a jet ski handles best when it's going fast and after a few laps we all start to feel more comfortable leaning into the turns at speed.

And then we're off, Michael leading the way as we speed away from Gold Coast Water Sports' headquarters next to Sea World towards South Stradbroke Island. We follow in Michael's snaking trail, being careful to keep within the white bubbles of his wake, while looking out for buoys, boats and anything else that might crack our fragile eggs.

It's exhilarating stuff, bouncing over waves at full pelt, carving wide sweeping turns, the wind tugging tears from our eyes. 

After passing the entrance to Couran Cove Resort, we turn around and return via Sovereign Islands, an affluent gated community peppered with dozens of extravagant waterfront homes.

By the time we get back to the centre, we've covered about 30 kilometres – something my forearms, thighs and backside will remember for some time to come.

Gold Coast Water Sports, Sea World Resort, Sea World Drive, Main Beach. One hour costs $190 a  jet ski (for up to two people).

Rob McFarland was a guest of the Australian Tourism Exchange and Tourism and Events Queensland. This article first appeared on traveller.com.au.