Got a couple of minutes — try the Catapult
A new multimillion-dollar adventure tourism attraction that catapults people across a ravine at 100km/h has launched near Queenstown.
AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand cofounder Henry van Asch yesterday revealed a new “world-first adventure tourism experience”, the Nevis Catapult, in the Nevis Valley.
The catapult has thrill-seekers experience up to 3Gs of force and speeds of almost 100km per hour in 1.5 seconds, as they are propelled 150m out across a ravine before dropping suddenly towards the valley floor.
The official opening brings to fruition three decades of planning and development, van Asch said.
“It’s hugely exciting to be here today, revealing the Catapult to the world, following years of playing around with the idea.”
Van Asch and Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker were the first to test out the Catapult yesterday.
Housed in a pod and between a series of cables, the catapult is a combination of height, flight and speed using a bespoke high-speed winch system.
Van Asch said he first came up with the idea when travelling around France during the 1980s with friend and bungy co-founder AJ Hackett.
“I did my first version of the catapult more than 30 years ago —
in 1987, a year before AJ and I brought bungy jumping to the world. Ever since I did that first catapult, I wanted to create some kind of catapult-style experience here,” he said.
Specialist technology for the Catapult, partly funded by a $500,000 Government grant, was built in an accredited testing facility in Christchurch then brought to site for full scale installation, testing and commissioning.
The cost of a ride on the attraction is $255 or $225 for a student.
First into the breach were competition winners Katie Mitchell and Chantelle Polley, who fearlessly applied to be the first to try out the device before even knowing what it entailed.
Mitchell, from Tauranga, had done a few bungys before, “but this was something else”. “You get swung forward like you're flying. It just topped everything.”