Generally we prefer our craft land-dwelling and with four wheels, but who can deny the joy of being on the water. Whether quietly flicking soft plastics for flathead from the tinnie or chasing bluefin tuna at the shelf like a mad dog, there’s no doubt life’s better with a boat.
That’s why Victorian readers should head along to the Melbourne International Boat Show, happening June 13-16 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
This year promises to be “bigger, better and boatier”, with a massive exhibitor list covering wake and ski boats, open cuddy/half cabins, tinnies, hard tops, centre consoles, pontoon cruisers, rigid inflatables, and even top-end luxury cruisers. Plus there’ll be PWCs, engines and drive systems, fishing gear and loads of lifestyle accessories.
There’ll be plenty on offer in way of entertainment, too. Headlining the list of special guest presenters is the USA’s Dave Marciano of Wicked Tuna, and visitors can even go into the draw to win a fishing adventure with the man himself. Also making an appearance is Paul Worsteling from iFish, Robby Nethercote from River to Reef and What’s Up Downunder, and loads more.
And if that’s not enough, there’ll be an 8m high zipline whizzing across the hall for daredevils large and small, and the 4×4 crowd can enjoy Isuzu’s Iron Summit, touted as being the steepest 4×4 ramp in the world.
Buy tickets online here to go into the draw to win a Volkswagen Amarok V6 and a Northbank 500C boat, which is a pretty epic adventure package.