Therapy up in the air
Most punters do it for the thrills and the fun. I did it for therapy.
Suffering from acrophobia – not to be confused with vertigo, by the way – inventor Neil Harrap’s rebuilt Fly By Wire seemed the perfect shock treatment for me. Either it would cure me forever, or I’d never go above sea level again.
Built in 1996, massive floods in 2003 destroyed everything except the cables spanning the 400-metre-wide gorge. Harrap eventually rebuilt his invention – the only one in the world – and reopened in August last year.
Following a pre-flight briefing, I’m strapped firmly and securely into the motorised, suspended ‘‘rocket’’. The 24hp engine roars into action and soon I’m hoisted into the air.
There’s a lovely breeze of fresh air, but I feel sick and sweaty, and I’ve not yet moved a millimetre forward. My eyes are fixed firmly on the ‘‘emergency stop’’ button, but I can’t be an egg and hit it prematurely.
Go big or go home, so I hit the accelerator to the max. With remarkable gentleness the rocket takes off, but soon it gathers speed and is going at a fair whack as we approach the first turn.
‘‘Lock fully left or right, then countersteer slightly,’’ were the instructions. ‘‘For top speed and momentum, turn continuously in the same direction.’’ Bah humbug, I deliberately go left-right-left-right.
And then, suddenly, bizarrely, the yearsago words of an old mate pop into my head. Having just heard my partner was pregnant, I asked father-of-three Claude what parenthood was like.
‘‘It’s like being strapped to the front of a speeding train,’’ he mused. ‘‘Bloody scary at first, and then you suddenly realise you love the wind in your hair.’’
And, by jove, I loved the wind in my hair on the Fly By Wire. Suddenly, having the need for speed, I was turning right-rightright. I was thundering from end to end in the canyon, fearless and confident. My eyes were no longer jammed shut, and I got to enjoy the stunning views – Ka¯ piti Island to the west, bush and hills elsewhere.
All too soon it’s over as the engine is remotely shut down. It’s another two minutes of blissfully quiet swaying until I’m back on the ground. Therapy’s never been this exhilarating.
Costs $149pp or $99pp for groups of three-plus. Exclusive hire at $495/hour. Bottom of Paekakariki Hill (coastal side). flybywire.co.nz