Borjomi Central Park 8th June 2018

The town of Borjomi is a resort in south-central Georgia located roughly two and a half hours by road from Tbilisi. It stands on the edge of the enormous Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, a forested reserve of almost nine hundred square kilometres with a wide variety of walking trails and tourist attractions. As of this writing the reserve has no amusement rides, but those after such things are catered for by Borjomi Central Park, a comparatively modest facility in the center of the town with a variety of attractions set within a landscaped garden. Readers should be aware that the only parking in the immediate vicinity is reserved for guests of the Crowne Plaza Hotel located next to the main gate; we ended up in a spot almost a kilometre away.

On arrival in the area our eyes were immediately drawn to a Giant Wheel at the top of a mountain standing proudly amidst a sea of tall trees. The sight reminded me very much of parks in Japan, where even the smallest amusement parks tend to be anchored by an oversized BFOFW. We decided not to hike to the top, but instead took a cable car that cost just five lari (~€1.75) for a one way ticket. We were about half way up before we realised our mistake; the coaster and other rides were clearly visible in the valley some five hundred metres below. We briefly considered a direct return to ground level, but decided it was worth investing a further two lari (~€0.70) on the wheel for the spectacular view, pictured above.

It was almost an hour later when we finally made our way into the park. There was a colourful photo opportunity with about a hundred toy Disney characters located just inside the entrance, but a sign indicated that there was a one lari charge per shot which we deemed excessive. Instead we walked the considerable distance back to Typhoon (#2441), a twelve year old Interpark Cyclon that is (as of this writing) the oldest known roller coaster in Georgia. It was interesting to see the hardware painted so as to blend almost completely into the surrounding environs, giving it a very different appearance to most coasters where garish (or at least dramatic) colours are the norm.

We had expected a run-of-the-mill carnival ride, and most of the ride was just that, delivering a decent but not particularly memorable experience that would have been quickly forgotten. There was a surprise towards the end, however; a brake segment prior to the final drop was out of action, resulting in an incredibly powerful airtime moment coupled with a powerful aftershock at the apex of the following climb. This was as thrilling as it was unexpected, making the ride far and away the most exciting of its type that I've experienced in my travels. We ended up doing four laps, one in each seat, and we'd have gone back for even more had we not other locations to investigate.