Kawarau Bridge Bungy: Where Commercial Bungy Jumping Was Born in 1988

AJ Hackett and the Kawarau Bridge, 1988

AJ Hackett, a New Zealand entrepreneur and thrill-seeker, had been experimenting with elastic cord jumping through the mid-1980s, drawing on the vine-jumping traditions of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu and the work of Oxford University's Dangerous Sports Club. In June 1987 he made an unsanctioned jump from the Eiffel Tower in Paris — wearing a tuxedo — which attracted international media attention and demonstrated the concept was viable at scale. He and business partner Henry van Asch then established the Kawarau Bridge site as the world's first permanent commercial operation.

The bridge Hackett chose was a historic 1880 suspension bridge that had been built to service the Otago gold rush and connect the Kawarau Gorge road. It was strong, scenic, and perfectly positioned above deep water. The site opened to paying customers on 12 November 1988 and never closed. AJ Hackett Bungy now operates sites globally, but the Kawarau Bridge remains the original.

What the experience is like

The Kawarau jump is 43 metres to the river surface. Jumpers leap from a platform on the bridge — ankles bound with a towel and the cord attached — and fall toward the turquoise river below. At full extension, the cord stretches and the rebound begins. Jumpers can request to be dipped into the river on the descent, which adds a water component to the experience. After the rebound, you're lowered onto a raft and retrieved from the water.

By modern standards the Kawarau jump is moderate in height — Nevis, AJ Hackett's other Queenstown site, is 134 metres. But Kawarau has something the higher jumps don't: the gorge walls close in on both sides, the river is vivid and close, and the setting is the one that started it all. Many people who have done jumps around the world still rate it as their most memorable.

The Experience Centre

The AJ Hackett Bungy Experience Centre at Kawarau Bridge is free to enter for non-jumpers. A cantilevered viewing platform extends from the riverbank toward the bridge, giving excellent sightlines for watching others jump. Inside, an exhibition covers the history of bungy jumping from its origins to the present. It's one of the better-presented adventure tourism histories in Queenstown and makes a worthwhile stop even if jumping is not your intention.