A sensational jump in the heart of New Zealand’s North Island Taupo bungy has been pleasuring adrenalin seekers since 1991. The innovative canter-lever platform puts the jumper 47meters above the mighty Waikato river and the jump is billed as the highest water touch jump in New Zealand.
Of all the adventure activities to do in Tropical North Queensland, there are none that raise the hairs on people’s backs like Bungy Jumping does. The idea of throwing yourself off a high tower towards a shallow pool with a giant rubber band tied attached to your ankles is, to put it mildly, scary as hell for most people.
It’s all about the fear factor. Bungy jumping for some people is about pushing your limits, challenging your mind and body, and simply being able to say, “I did it!”
Best know as the bridge that Bond jumped off in the beginning of the Goldeneye movie in an audacious escape from the bad guys, this 220 meter bungy jump off the side of a massive dam in the middle of the Swiss countryside is a must-do for any enthusiastic bungy jumper that thinks they want to step things up a notch or two.
If you are into that massive adrenalin rush then there’s no other extreme experiences or theme park ride that will come close to throwing yourself 233m down the side of a Tower. This Bungy jump is the most technical of its kind in the world.
Wire cables on either side of the jump platform run vertically from top to bottom. An attachment from the jumper will allow the jumper to fall close to the tower without actually making contact. This new technology also enables the jumper to have the wildest and most extreme experience possible as the concrete tower is only meters away during the descent. This increases the adrenalin and acts as a good reference for how fast you are travelling. This guideline bungy system is the first of its kind in the world.
Bungy jumping as a commercial operation is an extremely new activity, celebrating its 20th anniversary in November 2008, but has a history that spans more than a 1000 years.
From a small island in the South Pacific Ocean where grown men thrown themselves from intricately designed vine towers wearing nothing but loin clothes (in a vain attempt to hide their excitement) to present day Japan where grown men throw themselves off perfectly good bridges wearing nothing but loin clothes (that quite often fail to hide their excitement) the history of Bungy Jumping has been a wild ride…
What has really changed? read more...
Bungy jumping finds its beginnings in a small island in the South Pacific named Pentecost Island, in the country of Vanuatu. The ritual of ‘land diving’ takes place before the harvesting of yams, in order to ensure good crops. The aim of the ritual was to ‘bless’ the soil by having a man touch his head to the ground, after a tremendous jump from a wooden tower.
Although several stories surround the origins of the ceremony, local legend follows the tale of a woman who, after she was repeatedly abused by her husband, climbed up the highest banyan tree in the forest to escape. Upon reaching the top, she mocked her husband’s cowardice and dared him to follow her, which he did. As he reached the top, the woman, who had cleverly tied vines to her ankles, leapt from the tree and landed safely below. Having failed to see the vines securing her feet, the husband also jumped, but in his folly, plummeted to his death. This event was eventually repeated by local men to prove their courage (although with vines tied to their ankles!), and soon became a ritual associated with the yam harvest.
Yes, bungy jumping is scary. Yet what bungy jumping offers is the opportunity to experience and overcome these feelings in a safe and controlled environment. The feeling of fear before you jump – and the sense of achievement after, knowing that you’ve faced down that fear – is what makes bungy jumping such a unique experience.
Fear of all kinds often prevents people from achieving their goals or dreams. We hope that in overcoming this particular fear, you’ll be able to face other challenges in your life with greater confidence.
Bungy Japan uses equipment that is designed for industrial work and rock climbing that have been tested and have been used on bungy jump sites all around the world over the past 20 years.
Equipment used on site includes purpose built bungy jump ankle harnesses, waist and body harnesses, ropes and tubular webbing, karabiners, pulleys and D-shackles.
After discovering this peculiar ritual in the 1970s, a group from Oxford called ‘The Dangerous Sports Club’ (loosely based around Oxford University) performed a series of experimental jumps, from which New Zealand bungy champion and entrepreneur AJ Hackett took his cue. In the 1980s, AJ Hackett popularized the sport in New Zealand, transforming Queenstown from a sleepy ski town into a world-famous adventure capital.
After testing and developing a number of bungy ropes with New Zealand scientists, AJ Hacket and his business partner Henry van Asch set out to demonstrate their strength in a promotional jump from the Eiffel Tower in 1987. They followed this up in 1988 by establishing the very first commercial bungy operation, on Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown, New Zealand. The history of bungy from this point became inseparable from AJ Hackett and Queenstown.
Initially, many people saw bungy jumping as just a fad, and in fact, it developed a reputation as a dangerous sport due to a small number of unreliable operators. However, thanks to the efforts of AJ Hackett and other operators who rigorously conform to standards and guidelines governing jumps (such as double checking calculations and fittings for every jumper), the sport is safer than ever, and has reached immense popularity across the globe.
Eighteen years later, Queenstown is not only home to a number of the world’s best bungy sites, but also shops, cafés and tours centered on bungy jumping. As a spectator sport, no outdoor activity can rival the excitement of watching jumpers challenge themselves with a bungy rope (and a great deal of courage). AJ Hackett’s original bungy jump site alone attracts over 200,000 people a year to the area just to see these brave bungy jumpers testing their mettle.
Once seen as an ‘extreme sport’, bungy jumping has come to represent personal challenge; a profound encounter with one’s own will. Although safety has advanced greatly, it still remains a daunting experience. For all these reasons and more, a growing number of people have discovered the thrill of the jump, along with its unique opportunity for self-realization.