Bungy Jumping

Just outside Queenstown, about 23 kilometres northeast of New Zealand's "adventure capital" and a half hour's drive, stands the Kawarau suspension bridge (built in 1882) with a 43-metre drop to the water.

This is where commercial bungy jumping began in 1988, after noted bungy jumper A J Hackett leapt off the Eiffel Tower in 1986 and set the stage for jumps into the Kawarau River.

Jumping in Queenstown

Due to the popularity of bungy jumping, Queenstown has risen into jumps from higher platforms, even as bungy jumpers continue to visit the popular and readily accessible Kawarau bridge along the SH6 highway.

There's now the Skippers Canyon Bridge, 71 metres over a narrow gorge of the Shotover River, and the Pipeline which rises to 102 metres on the site of a former pipeline for gold sluicing.

Want to jump from higher yet? Do the heli-bungy. Climb to 300 metres (1000 feet) in a helicopter and jump from there. Closer to the town centre, take the Queenstown Skyline gondola to the observation deck 450 metres above town — and jump from The Ledge.

Elsewhere in New Zealand In Taupo, try the Taupo Bungy over the Waikato River. North of Christchurch, visit Thrillseekers Canyon at Hanmer Springs. For a city location, there's SkyJump in the heart of Auckland. Jump from the Sky Tower, at 192 metres (630 ft) the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.

Jumping in the world

You will find bungy jumping operations in many parts of New Zealand and its popularity has spread to many parts of the world. In Australia A J Hackett operates a bungy jumping site in Cairns. In many areas, during festivals and holiday seasons, you will find mobile bungy jumping operations where jumpers leap from a crane's platform high above the crowds. In the United States, there's A J Hackett Bungy in Las Vegas. In California, jump from Bungee America's Bridge to Nowhere, about 40 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the Angeles National Forest.

In Zambia, you will find bungy jumping from the Victoria Falls Bridge into the Zambezi River.