Adventure Zoo Wildlands in Emmen is a park that opened in March 2016 after moving from the former Emmen Zoo. The special thing about the park is that it is both an amusement park and a zoo. Wildlands is split into three different parts, each with its own theme. There is Nortica with an arctic theme, Jungola with a jungle theme and Serenga with a savannah theme. Serenga has had a new attraction since the beginning of 2018, namely Tweestryd. This is a roller coaster in which two teams compete against each other based on gravity. The fight can raise money for a development project in South Africa. The Tweestryd roller coaster / Source: Emmenaar, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-4.0)
Rollercoaster Tweestryd
The Tweestryd roller coaster in Wildlands is a real family attraction in which visitors can compete with each other. The roller coaster consists of two tracks where both trains compete against each other for the win, as it were. The two teams, team blue and team red, are each lifted up in their own train at the same time on this roller coaster and then released. Gravity creates a race between both teams. At the end of the rails, both trains come to a stop, after which the route is completed again, but then backwards. The team whose train arrives first is declared the ‘winner’. The Tweestryd is also called a family dual coaster due to the fact that racing takes place on two lanes next to each other.
The story behind the Tweestryd
The Tweestryd roller coaster is located in the Serenga, the savanna-themed area in Wildlands. The roller coaster symbolizes the battle that the imaginary Serenga people had with the mining giant about forty years ago to close the mine. At the time, the coal mine caused a lot of pollution and inconvenience to the population. The Tweestryd is located in this old mine, which is why various mining elements can be found on the site.
Opening of the roller coaster
The Tweestryd opened on Thursday, March 29, 2018, but the roller coaster was already open for subscribers on Wednesday, March 28, 2018. Vlogger Enzo Knol was also present at this opening. On this day, Enzo Knol competed with Wildlands director Frankwin van Beers.
Winning for the charity ActionAid
The winning team in the Tweestryd can provide a donation to an ActionAid development project. Team Blue is linked to fair mining in South Africa: for research into pollution, providing legal assistance and fighting for compensation for damage to residents. Team Red is linked to sustainable agriculture and helps women farmers in South Africa to work together to strengthen their rights regarding agricultural land. After one year, the team that has won the most can count on 25,000 euros from the Wildlands Nature & Education Fund.
Technical data about the Tweestryd
The Tweestryd is a shuttle roller coaster, which means that the trains do not travel a closed circuit. It is a ‘double family boomerang model’ from the manufacturer Vekoma, Veld Koning Machinefabriek, a company based in Vlodorp, Limburg. One train each runs on the two tracks in the Tweestryd, with a maximum capacity of 20 people. The fighters are secured in the roller coaster by means of a hip brace. The top speed of the roller coaster is 60 kilometers per hour. The length of the track is 218 meters and the roller coaster is also 20 meters high. Finally, the battle in the Tweestryd is over quickly: a ride on the roller coaster takes 1 minute and 5 seconds.