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Bungy Jumping in Queenstown |
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Wednesday, 20 December 2006 |
Today we are going Bungy jumping off the Kawarau Bridge with the
experienced AJ Hackett Bungy.
Now let us get
this straight to all of you out there: you cannot possibly stay in Queenstown
without going bungy at least once; Bungy is just something people do here in
Queenstown. A bit like going for a game of golf with a mate. ;-)
Queenstown is known worldwide for being the home of bungy and AJ Hackett Bungy
for being its ambassador. The Kawarau Bungy Centre opened some 17 years ago in
1988 and while being a good 20-minute drive from the centre, it is still one of
Queenstown's most frequented visitor attractions. The facility is indeed much
more than a bridge and has in fact a full-fledged museum, replete with a video
presentation, a café, a viewing desk and a gift shop that make the visitor feel
quite welcome.
 
The site is known as the world's first bungy site and
yearly attracts tens of thousands of fearless jumpers. It is the smallest of all
of AJ Hackett's bungy sites in Queenstown, being 43 metres (142 feet) high above
the crystal waters of the Kawarau River. The viewing deck allows a spectacular
scenery and you can be sure to have a good crowd watching you when your turn
comes to do the big jump.
 
Kawarau is also widely known for the many
options it offers to its jumpers; you can almost ask for anything; i.e. jumping
in tandem, topple over backwards or asking to hit the water heads down, the crew
will make your craziest dreams come true.
The
20-minute bus trip to the site is the perfect opportunity to mull over your
decision. You will be most likely tempted to play and re-play different
scenarios in your mind, most of them involving yourself jumping off perfectly
and with grace. You might even not bother looking out the window where some
stunning views of the Queenstown area will lie in front of you.
 
Once on
the site, everything goes quick. In order to accurately jump, participants
are weighted and before we can say 'hey', there we are queuing to get our 3
and a half seconds of pure rush. Looking down at this stage isn't probably the
best option as it looks like a long way! As we get our feet strapped up, we can
start hearing our heart beat. Our turn comes, the crew asks each of us to come
out on the platform. "Come on, just a little further". Looking up at the camera
and down to the crowd waiting on the viewing deck for you to throw yourself off
the bridge, we feel like this is a bit unreal.
 
 
Then the count down begins and
this is when you cannot freak out!
"I'll count down from 5, and when I
say jump, you jump"
"OK"
"5 4 3 2 1 Jump"
 
 
A moment of utter and
pure madness overcomes us before diving out, like no other feeling we've ever
had.
3.5 seconds falling towards the earth (or should we say the water?),
feeling weightlessness and screaming out like we are about to die before the
cord tightens and slows us down, making us rebound back up. What a rush! Our bodies get so filled up with
adrenaline that for the next 10 minutes or so it is hard to figure what the heck
we've just done and whether we've actually done what we think it is! A couple of
bounces and we get lowered into the boat that brings us back to the shore.
Filled with immense pride, we walk triumphantly back to the centre to pick up
our personal photos and DVD already awaiting for us. Sweet as bro! :-)
Surprisingly enough, there
was no real shock when bouncing back. The system is actually quite gentle on the
person who jumps. Whether you're old (the oldest jumper was 94) or young (the
youngest was 10), anyone can have a go and it's just a matter of plucking up the
courage to jump!
If you are after something unique that pushes your
senses to their limits, bungy is definitely for you. And if you're
only after a bit of fun, well you might as well go bungy too. Queenstown being
the home of bungy, why not give a go? Do not leave NZ without your dose of pure
adrenaline!
AJ Hackett Bungy Jumping (Bookings)
Phone: +64 3 442 4007
Freephone: 0800 286 495
Email: bungycentre@ajhackett.co.nz
The Station - Queenstown Bungy
Centre
Cnr Camp & Shotover St
Queenstown NZ
website: www.ajhackett.com
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 23 December 2006 )
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NZ Activities 
