Adventure Centres are cool. You can do exciting things like canoeing, climbing, or rafting and often get soaking wet. One summer a while back, my friends saw a job advert from a centre in the coastal mountains. We phoned them to find out when the interviews were.

They asked us to come up the next Saturday and if we were fit for the job we could start right away. We were told to bring several changes of clothes and sportswear that can get wet and muddy. This sounded like it could be a lot of fun.

We each packed a big bag full of comfy sportswear and casual clothes, just in case there was some extra time to play around. The next morning we headed for the mountains and arrived at noon on Saturday.

Leslie, a blond Australian in a blue tracksuit, was our interviewer. She showed us their amazing adventure pool, with canoes and dinghies for safety training, and big canisters for raft building. It had a wider paved area than most pools so they could use it also for land based activities.

A net of robust ropes could be moved across the middle of the pool to practice open water crossings. Different kinds of rope bridges could be build across the pool and fixed to special anchors on both sides.

A climbing wall was leaning over deep end of the pool to practice free climbing in a safe manner. If you lose your grip, you just fall into the pool. I was looking forward to try that.

At the shallow end were chairs and tables, plus a few deck chairs. It looked like a holiday area. "This is our chill-out zone, for social activities and pool parties. Here we meet in between adventures or hang out in the evening." she explained.

Pool Rules

We asked if we could use the pool and what the dress code was. She said we could wear anything as long as it is clean and we properly rinse it in the shower first, especially after outdoor activities. The idea that pool rules require you to take a shower in your clothes before entering the pool was unreal.

Drying Room

On the way out Leslie showed us the drying room next to the pool. It was really hot in there, using the excess heat of the pool heating system. Lots of racks and hangers were loaded with drying clothes. A group of college students was at the centre and it looked like they had a lot of wet fun already.

Leslie said we could borrow any kit we might need. Then she asked us to get ready for the water test and show up in the pool hall, dressed in jeans, tee-shirt and pullover, socks and pool shoes. Since this was what we were wearing anyway, we just put on our clean tennis shoes. Looking good in our casual clothes we went to the pool for the water test.