Bungee jumping in New Zealand

On the 140-foot-high Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge, just outside Queenstown, New Zealand, my wife, Margaret, and I were at the Kawarau Bungy Jump operated by AJ Hackett Bungy (Station Building [corner of Shotover & Camp streets], Queenstown, New Zealand; phone +61 0800 286 4958, www.bungy.co.nz). Opened in November 1988, this was the world’s first commercially operated bungee-jumping site.

The rains had been coming down for some time before our visit on Nov. 15, 2016, so the river was up. This meant that jumpers weren’t able to drop all the way down into the water, since there was driftwood and other dangerous debris floating down the river, causing hazards. At other times, however, it is possible to get your hair wet on the jump. 

I wasn’t sure beforehand if I would actually be able to launch myself when the time came, but I summoned the intestinal fortitude I needed and did make the jump — my first and probably my last time. My wife chose not to jump.

The price of a jump is NZD195 (near $142), payable in advance in case one chickens out. There’s no charge for people age 75 or over. (The oldest person to have jumped there was in their 90s. The heaviest person to jump weighed 528 pounds.)

The price included transportation from and back to downtown Queenstown. However, we drove a rental car. Also, buses ran in each direction about every 80 minutes.

Still photos taken of jumpers were available afterward, priced at NZD45. A DVD cost the same, but the price for purchasing both was NZD80.

Some spell it “bungy” and others, “bungee.” All we know is that AJ Hackett Bungy pioneered this crazy adrenalin activity. This was a real thrill.

STEVE RICHARDS

Seattle, WA