Catapulted into realm of adrenaline junkies
My toes start tapping on the edge of a platform 150 metres high above the Kawarau River in a remote valley near Queenstown.
Earlier in the morning, all I knew was AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand was unveiling a world-first thrill ride involving height, speed and flight in the Nevis Valley.
I was nervous. Apart from having a weak bladder after two children and terrified there could be an accident, I have also never done an adventure ride of any sort. A ferris wheel at a carnival is about the most adventurous I have got.
So when company co-founder Henry van Asch told us we would be catapulted 150 metres out across a ravine at speeds of 100kmh and 3Gs of force – I clenched my pelvic floor muscles in fright.
Once propelled across the ravine, we would drop to the valley floor and experience a series of bounces.
The ride – the Nevis Catapult – has been 30 years in the making, van Asch said.
‘‘It is hugely exciting to be here today, revealing the Catapult to the world, following years of playing around with the idea. It is a pretty unique feeling, surprising even. There’s nothing else quite like it.’’
He is bang on.
I had the good fortune of being fourth to fly out off the platform. I had seen enough to be sufficiently scared, but I was gladly distracted by the Australian news crew from Sunrise, doing a live cross to viewers across the ditch.
Australian woman Chantelle Polley was one of two members of the public to be the first to ride the Nevis Catapult. She was joined by Tauranga winner Katie Mitchell.
Mitchell said she won the opportunity to be one of the first members of the public to ride the Nevis Catapult after submitting a video to AJ Hackett saying why she should be chosen.
‘‘I have been waiting for something like this to come out and it was epic. It by far exceeded my expectations. You feel like you are flying and just the speed of itself is really cool. You get to feel that flying feeling and go at a speed you wouldn’t normally get to do on any of the other activities.’’
Unlike, the Tauranga thrillseeking addict, getting weighed in, clipped in and escorted to the edge of the world – or so it seemed to me – was all new.
Shaking, I inched closer to the edge. As the bungy roped pulled tighter I tried to assume (a bad) Super Woman position ready for take off. I squeezed my eyes shut, then quickly opened them – I’ve got to be able to see what I am about to experience.
It felt like eternity, then like a fighter pilot ejected from a jet I shot off the ledge. The speed was insane. I felt like a human cannonball and everything around me flashed past.
At some point, speed turned into a slow-motion. I was swinging in between the craggy Central Otago mountains, above the Kawarau River, and felt five seconds of calm before I lurched down and back up.
A yell from the crew checking on me was greeted with a thumbs up. I felt exhilarated, I felt alive.
The catapult idea was formed while van Asch travelled around France during the 1980s with friend and bungy co-founder AJ Hackett, he said.
‘‘I played around with the idea by riding my mountain bike with a bungy cord attached, off bridges....In 1988 we took bungy to the world, and put New Zealand on the world adventure tourism map. Thirty years on it’s wonderful to still be pushing the boundaries globally.’’
The specialist technology for the multi-million dollar Catapult was partly funded by a $500,000 Government grant.