Bumpers at Apple

Press, 26 December 1985, Page 15

Bumpers at Apple

By

NEVIN TOPP

The Big Apple, Ltd, is hoping for a bumper time at its Opawa leisure park complex today. The company is hoping to open its new dodgem-car pavilion, bumper-boat, and bumper-car activities at its Opawa site, just off the Brougham Street expressway, today, to broaden the attraction of the ice-skating complex. The company brought to New Zealand Mr Daniel Pinfari, the field engineering executive director of the Italian firm, Italrides Company, Ltd, in Reggio Emilia, near Bologna, which makes leisure-park machinery. The Big Apple has bought the dodgem car pavilion, which can carry 18 electricpowered dodgem cars, and the cars themselves from the Italian firm, for a total imported cost of about $250,000.

Mr Pinfari says that the

Italians have managed to refine the dodgem and bumper cars down to a fine art, making the whole “vehicle," right down to the rubber bumper bars. Leisure activities are particularly popular in Western Europe because people want to get away from traffic jams, big trucks, and pollution, he says. Italrides main product is roller-coasters, and it sends its leisure-park machinery throughout the world. Mr Pinfari was to go to Jakarta and then China for his company.

China is interested in developing leisure parks because the country has nothing like them at the moment, he says. The pavilion is 22m by 11m with its deck covered in steel. It will carry 18 dodgems at a time, which have a maximum speed of 9 km/h.

Other developments at the park are the bumper boats, bumper cars, and mini-golf. The bumper boats are powered by a 2 h.p. engine, and the pool, which will carry 12 boats, will have a depth of between 75cm and 80cm.

The Big Apple’s managing director, Mr John Vryenhoek, says that his staff have all been trained in first aid and resuscitation techniques. The 16 bumper cars are powered by 5 h.p. engines and have a top speed of 15 km/h. The track, which is banked, has a safety rail.