There are places where the serenity of nature should be accompanied only by quiet contemplation.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
This isn't one of those places.
From around the world they come to Queenstown, New Zealand, ready to make a leap.
"Whoo!"
…of faith.
“I'm so ready, bring it on."
"I'm getting excited actually, yeah."
"Five, four, three, two, one..."
If you've got an addiction to adrenaline, this is no place to kick the habit.
"New Zealand people have a very immediate lifestyle a lot of the time, and that's what people can experience when they come here."
Henry Van Asch, AJ Hacket Bungy
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Nothing like it!"
The jetboat is just one of New Zealand's adventure inventions. There's no propeller, so the boat can operate in just a few inches of water.
"These machines, you can spin 'em on a dime!"
Need proof? Jetboats were intended to navigate New Zealand’s shallow rivers, but it turned out they were just as effective scaring the daylights out of customers paying for the privilege.
"Ha ha ha! yee hee hee."
Not that anyone's complaining.
It seems that nearly every day, another adventure sport is created here.
"You know we quite proudly call ourselves the adventure capital of the world, there are so many adventure activities to do here, in fact we worked it out that if you did one of every type of activity you'd be here for sixty days."
David Kennedy, Destination Queenstown
All this is part of a tradition that goes back to the birthplace of adventure tourism in New Zealand.
The Kawarau Bridge was the world's first commercial bungy jumping site.
"Woooaaaaaa!!!”
It's tough enough to jump at Kawarau, but at other sites in New Zealand, the drop is enough to make adventure seem like lunacy.
"Here we go Marlene, leaning forward, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…"
"The people who have to really try hard to jump are the ones that get the most out of it."
Henry Van Asch, AJ Hacket Bungy
At least, that's the theory.
"How was that?”
“I'm never bungy jumping again."
But then, after you've done it once, there's no need to.
"Okay, cheers!”
“Ahh, we deserve that.”
“That was a good one!"
In a land that seems made for adventure, the only question may be, what will they think of next? Whatever it is, someone will be ready to take the plunge.
