About AJ Hackett Bungy

Ever since 1988, we’ve been in the business of fuelling people with courage and adrenaline. We’re also a proudly Kiwi organisation, with innovation, life experience and fun at the core of what we do.

The Bungy Origins

Bungy began with a small group of adventurous people in Vanuatu. For centuries, they would fearlessly fling themselves from huge towers with merely a few vines tied around their feet. They called it ‘land-diving’, and legend says that it started when a mistreated wife threw herself from a tall tree, saving herself with the vines while the husband fell to his death.

The event was reconstructed annually, only by women. Eventually men would join in to prove their courage, and the tradition is upheld to this day.

The Early Days of Bungy

This ancient ritual inspired the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club in 1970s. AJ Hackett, along with a few mates, saw a video of this group in action and, in true Kiwi fashion, his imagination took over.

He and Henry van Asch started developing bungy cords with a bit of help from Auckland University Scientists (guess they weren’t too busy at the time). They knew people would be just as pumped as they were to take a leap of faith, push the limits and live without fear.

After some extensive testing, they needed a radical way to demonstrate their faith in the bungy ropes. What they did would make headlines around the world. In June 1987 they snuck up the Eiffel Tower at night.

The next morning, AJ jumped from the iconic building. He was immediately arrested but released not long after, with a round of handshakes and très biens from the Parisian police officers as a parting gift.

Bungy took off. The world’s first commercial bungy operation opened at the Kawarau Bridge in November 1988. People couldn’t wait to try it, paying $75 to jump.

Visitors would soon flock in from around the world to take part, in what would eventually be recognised at the birth of adventure tourism in New Zealand.

BUNGY TODAY

It’s been 37 years, but we’re still just as committed to our customers mustering up the courage to do something they’ll never forget. We fill people with an incredible feeling of satisfaction, and we’ve done so with a proven safety record.

Across six sites in three iconic Kiwi destinations – Queenstown, Auckland and Taupo – we continue to unleash adrenaline-fueled adventures on the world’s thrill seekers.

With three decades and a spotless safety record under our belt, we've expanded our resume to more than 'just' bungy.

With 13 ground-breaking products on offer – from giant swings to bridge climbs, ziprides to catapults and five unique bungy experiences – we're well and truly holding our place at the cutting edge of global adventure tourism.

And there's still more to come.

So if your gig is heights, flight and speed, come pay us a visit. We promise to thrill you. Help us continue our journey, while kick-starting your own. What are you waiting for?

About AJ Hackett Bungy

The Bungy Origins

The Early Days of Bungy

BUNGY TODAY

THE BUNGY ORIGINALS.