Bungy, Skydiving, and Other Adrenaline-fueled Activities

Skydiving and bungy are probably on your bucket list of things to do in New Zealand. Frankly, activities like these did not make their way on my list when I first applied for the working holiday visa. Nor were they on my mind when I was in NZ. 

Hmm?? What were you thinking? Well, I thought I’d just stay for the allocated six months and fly off to my next adventure elsewhere. Six months does not sound like a lot of time when you place mountains before touristy stuff.

It wasn’t until I was doing my Tour de South Island, coupled with the fact that we were enjoying post-lockdown discount prices, did we do both items within a week.

Where? What? How much?

Bungy

Kawarau Bridge Bungy (134 m), Queenstown (aka the birthplace of Bungy)

Price: NZD 144 (usual price of NZD 205)

Photo and Video add-ons: NZD 56 (discounted price)

Skydiving

Skydive Wanaka (12,000 ft) (wanted to do it in Queenstown, but the same company, NZONE, closed their shop in Queenstown due to covid)

Price: NZD 280 (bookme prices) (usual price was 299)

Photo and video add-ons: NZD 149

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Which is scarier?

Bungy. No doubt. The first 3 s of free-fall were terrifying. For some, it is the leap out. Or maybe the proximity of the ground to them. I have no problem with those. What made it scary was the series of recoils and accompanying free-falls after the leap. Would I be doing this again? Probably not.

Bungy + My Experience

Nzpocketguide says there are seven epic places to jump in New Zealand. I shan’t dwell on each site as I had, back then, already decided to do just one jump in my life. And where else but the birthplace of bungy jumping in Queenstown.

Staff from the Kawarau Bridge allows you to decide if you would like to get wet in the river. Most people would choose to get their heads dunked during their jump in summer. I heard that the staff get to dunk their whole body like an Oreo cookie in milk. But I’m not sure I would want to do either during winter – most probably not when the day was cold with sporadic drizzle. But things do not always work the way you want. I’m not complaining here. It made for a good experience and a laugh.

While waiting for my turn to jump, the facilitator asked if I would like to get wet. Nope!

How about just touching the water with your hands? Hmm… that sounds harmless.

I suppose it is difficult to accurately estimate the length of the bungy cord needed to meet this goal. In the end, a third of my head and arms went into the water.

So did my shoe.

It somersaulted and landed with a dull splash on the gushing Kawarau River.

Note to self: Remember to securely fasten your laces when jumping! Not that it is useful to me anymore. SoBs.

While having a video and photo of your lost shoe during bungy is unique, hilarious and definitely extra memorable, you would have to make your way up the gravelled stairs to the shop one shoe off. Ouch.

TIP: You could strap a GoPro on your wrist. A friend of mine took a 360 video of his jump.

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Skydiving + My Experience

There’s more to discuss on the location of your first skydiving experience here. 

Location

Foremost, what do you want to see? Snow-capped mountains, vast greenery or rivers, lakes and oceans?

If mountains are your calling, choose to skydive at Mt Cook, Franz Josef, Wanaka or Queenstown. Skydiving during winter guarantees snowy peaks. Skydiving during summer? More grey than white.

Skydiving in Abel Tasman allows you to see both the North and South Islands.

I skydived in Wanaka and saw mountains, green fields and Lake Wanaka.

Altitude

The higher your tandem skydive, the longer your free-fall, and the costlier your skydiving. How much are you willing to fork out for your dive?

A 9,000 ft tandem skydive free-fall lasts up to 25 s and could cost around NZD 200 (at least in Taupo).

A 20,000 ft tandem skydive free-fall lasts up to 85 s and could cost about NZD 600 (at least in Franz Josef).

And there are the photo and video add-ons. Do you want a handcam, a personal photographer, or both?

I paid NZD 299 for my dive and another NZD 149 for the handcam.

My Experience

We had to wait for a couple of days before the sky in Wanaka was sufficiently cleared to skydive.

To save me from writing a narrative here’s a brief cut of my experience;

1. Watched a safety/ pre-dive video in a room
2. Signed an indemnity form
3. Paid for my package
4. Doodled on my palm
5. Wore my skydiving suit and headcover
6. Met my tandem instructor
7. Got onto the small plane
8. Leap of faith (free fall, screams, the opening of parachute, some twists and turns, landing)
9. Return to shop for cert and photo/ video URL

Unlike my first bungy experience, there’s nothing bizarre with my virgin skydiving episode. I enjoyed myself tremendously. So does the tandem instructor, who said I have a cheery disposition and made the event fun for him too. Hah!

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More Unconventional Activities

Disclaimer: I did none but have friends who’ve done either. They recommended the following two activities to me.

Nevis Swing. A 300 m arc at the price of NZD 225 solo or NZD 440 tandem with a friend. Judging from the video I’ve watched of this friend who jumped with his partner, it was a mix of terror and exhilaration. Imagine having your legs dangling high above the valley, on your swing, waiting for the moment when the staff releases your swing and sends you flying. You’ll first experience free fall, followed by the pull that meets you at the lowest point. Instead of recoil, you’ll be reminded of your experience on a pirate ship in amusement parks.

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Wildwire Wanaka. Climbing behind a waterfall, crossing small swing bridges and having a harness on you while attempting the climb. How exciting! The company was offering discounted prices due to COVID, and that truly tempted me. But alas, due to time and money constraints, we picked skydiving before cable climbing. You could find out more about their activities through this post that first piqued my interest.

Erm, so I’ve mentioned just two activities, but there is another serious contender that I won’t mind throwing my money into if I have the time.

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Deep Canyon. Hiking, rappelling, sliding, swimming, kloofing. Just look at the photos and videos available on their website! Woah!

Bungy? Skydiving? Swing? Cable Climbing? Canyoning? Oh, I would like to do them all!