Feb 242 min read

Bungy Jumping at AJ Hackett

What is the best way to spend your last day in New Zealand, well obviously bungee jumping at AJ Hackett. The Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown is a 43m jump, 141ft, about 8 seconds of free fall. TOTAL RUSH!

The last leg of our trip we spent three days in Queenstown, very busy, active little city. You can step out of your hotel and you're 20 feet from the water, a walk away from a range of different bars, restaurants, and shops. The first day we were entered into Queenstown, our group blocked off a day where people could sign up for bungee jumping at AJ Hackett, the founder and thrill seeker of bungee jumping. Everyone who singed up on this day could take the leap off of the Kawarau bridge. I booked my time too late to get on that set date we were all jumping, so had to jump on the last day we were in Queenstown. But still everyone who jumped had a blast!....well some of us did, there were a few people who were a bit hesitant, and GoPros were lost.

Sunday, was my day to jump, I was stoked, i've skydived twice, which you fall about 10,000 ft in the air, so I figured if I can do that, this should be a breeze. So the morning of my Mom and I walked to the shuttle service that AJ Hackett offers, a 10min walk from our hotel, they are first class at what they do, 100% success rate with 0 injuries. As the shuttler service picked us up, I learned from the previous jumpers to make sure my Gopro was secure and not going anywhere! 2 rolls of duck-tape later, it's time too test this theory.

As we were escorted to the bridge, our guide walked us through the entire process from harness to jumping, you get checked three times by three different people, making sure everything is secure and snug. When I got to the ledge they asked if I wanted to get dunked in the river, which who doesn't want to get baptized in New Zealand? They said I was just at the weight needed to hit the water, the instructions were simple, just jump, arms out, and dive down. Making sure to not jump forward, if you do this you'd lose all your momentum going down. So I got to the edge, took in the sights, looked at a few cameras for my photo op and was told 3...2...1..bungy! Jumped out with ease! Lucky I made successful plunge! Hanging and swinging around while I wait to get let down from the life raft did get a bit nauseating, I was pulled in, unhooked and made my way up to top of the facility...hiking up 4 stories later. Man when you're pumping with adrenaline, and out of breath from the hike was probably the toughest part.

My Mom meet me up top and we took it all in! What a rush, would I do it again? HELL YES. Just make sure to duck-tape your GoPro!