Queenstown Nevis Bungy

Want a ride on the wild side? Head to Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloude, and Say Kia Ora to the Nevis Bungy!

I went to New Zealand almost a decade ago and I would run back in a heartbeat if given the chance. In fact, I would run right to the south island, and into to AJ Hacketts in Queenstown.

You’ve got a few choices of bungy, the Kawarau jump is pictured below, as well as a swing, a zip-line, and a catapult. I went for was the Nevis, the highest jump available in New Zealand. Go big or go home, right?

With a bit of a macabre sense of humour and a friendly attitude, AJ Hackett is a great place to have your first experience with bungy jumping. They tell you up front, before you pay or sign anything, that they will not bully you into jumping, but if you get to the platform and don’t jump you’ll pay an extra $200 to walk away. They also make sure not to rush you when you’re reading and signing their waver, something I very much appreciated. Once you’re all done reading and signing, they slap down a piece of paper in the shape of a toe tag and ask you to sign your name, and provide a phone number and name for your next of kin.

Relax, you’ll be fine. Just don’t do what I did and call your parents the day before, telling them you’re going bungy jumping and that you just wanted to say you loved them in case something went wrong. Sorry Mom! Sorry Dad!

Be at the shop at the agreed time, and they’ll take care of the rest. A van will take you up into the mountains with the rest of the people you’ll be jumping with. Sit back, enjoy the view. When you get to the top, have a look around. For the Lord of the Rings fans, you’re about to bungy jump in the Misty Mountains. How much cooler could that possibly get!? For the rest of you non-LOTR-nerds, the scenery is beautiful irregardless.

There are lockers for your things, just take an elastic so you can wrap your key around your wrist when you jump.

You’ll get to the Nevis via a little cable cart, because this bungy isn’t on a bridge, but a platform strung between two mountain peaks. While you wait for it, you can watch the others jump. I remember watching one man scream as he went off the edge. I promised myself I wouldn’t. The same poor guy didn’t manage to pull the release at his feet, so that he could swing himself upright after the bungee had settled. They had to pull him up by his feet, poor thing!

If they haven’t already, they’ll then explain to you what the number they wrote on your hand means. The heaviest person goes first. I should know, I was heaviest!

On the other bungies you can choose how to jump, back flip off the edge, running jump, whatever you want, but on the Nevis you have to swan dive. They’ll get you into what feels like a dentist chair, and strap you with what feels like ankle weights, and explain what you have to do during your jump.

They’ll tell you that they’ll count backwards from five, and to jump on one. I jumped on three.

I thought I was going to die.

I screamed.

Then, when I felt the bungy beginning to stretch and slow my fall, the most amazing sensation washed over me.

Psychologically, I know exactly what it was; a rush of endorphins, my brain was going into overdrive after thinking that my life was forfeit. That description just doesn’t do it justice. It doesn’t feel like relief. It feels like falling into peace. I had never felt so good before, nor have I since. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

If you do jump, they’ll give you a certificate and a shirt to celebrate your accomplishment, as if being able to say that you went bungy jumping in the Misty Mountains and that it was the highest jump in New Zealand isn’t enough.

It’s an amazing experience, and I have exactly zero regrets about doing it.

Are there any extreme sports you’ve tried on trips that have turned out amazing? Let me know in the comments!