Bungy jumping in Queenstown

Where the jumps are

Most of Queenstown's jumps happen well outside the town, but most start with a check-in in the centre. The Kawarau Bridge is about 23 kilometres east, beside the road to Cromwell. The Nevis site lies further out in the hills, reached only on AJ Hackett's bus from its centre on Shotover and Camp Streets. The Shotover Canyon Swing's platform is on the canyon at Arthurs Point, with check-in at 34 Shotover Street, and the skydive drop zone is near the Remarkables. The Ledge, at the top of the gondola, is closed.

What it’s like

At Kawarau you jump from a working piece of history. The suspension bridge was built in 1880 for the goldfields road, and on 12 April 1988, by AJ Hackett’s own account, it carried the world’s first commercial bungy jump. AJ Hackett Bungy, the company that made that jump, still runs it. The Department of Conservation likens the drop to stepping off a ten-storey building; the company puts the freefall at two to three seconds, and a touch of the river on the way down is possible, depending on its level. The viewing deck sits directly above the jump zone, so the people who came with you are a few metres away when you go.

Nevis is a different kind of day. The 4WD bus takes a narrow gravel track into the hills, and the jump is made from a pod hung on cables over the Nevis River, 134 metres below; AJ Hackett calls it the highest in New Zealand. The platform floor is open steel grating, so the gorge is in view beneath your feet.

The Shotover Canyon Swing works the other way round. You leave a cliff-top platform 109 metres above the Shotover River, fall about 60 metres, and the rope then carries you through a 200-metre arc across the canyon, by Destination Queenstown’s figures. It operates in all weathers, the company says, and has no upper age limit.

Your options

Four ways to go, compared on the facts that decide most choices. Prices are the operators’ own for an adult, read on 15 October 2026.

Bridge bungy 1. Kawarau Bridge Bungy

• 43 m drop
• NZ$320
• Where it began, 1988

Best forA first jump, over water, with friends watching Watch forA water touch depends on the river level See the profile → Gorge bungy 2. Nevis Bungy

• 134 m drop
• NZ$395
• The highest in New Zealand

Best forThe biggest drop, and a day out to reach it Watch forAbout four hours with the 4WD bus See the profile → Canyon swing 3. Shotover Canyon Swing

• 109 m cliff
• Check price
• 60 m freefall, then the arc

Best forA cliff-edge fall ten minutes from town Watch forPrices changed in October; check them See the profile → Gorge swing 4. Nevis Swing

• 300 m arc
• NZ$325
• Tandem possible

Best forThe Nevis gorge without going head-first Watch forThe same half-day as the Nevis bungy See the profile →

Swipe for all four. Every card opens its profile below.

1. Kawarau Bridge Bungy

The original jump, from the 1880 bridge about 23 kilometres from town, run by AJ Hackett. It suits anyone who wants the classic and wants company: the deck is free, and the bridge also carries the Kawarau Swing (NZ$240) and a 130-metre riverside Zipride (NZ$50). Tandem jumps are possible when the river is at a low or normal level. One limitation: the water touch cannot be promised, because it depends on the river. Book with AJ Hackett.

2. Nevis Bungy

Also AJ Hackett’s. You reach it only on the company’s 4WD bus from its centre on the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets, checking in 30 minutes before departure; the whole outing takes about four hours. It suits someone who has decided they want the big one. The limitation is its stricter age and weight limits, set out under Limits and risks. Book with AJ Hackett.

3. Shotover Canyon Swing

A separate company, with its check-in at 34 Shotover Street and its platform on the canyon at Arthurs Point. It suits anyone who wants the height without a head-first dive, and it runs solo or tandem. Its prices rose on 1 October 2026 and we could not find the new figures, so check them when you book. Its zipline, the Canyon Fox, was closed when we checked. Book with Shotover Canyon Swing.

4. Nevis Swing and Catapult

Two more ways to use the Nevis gorge, both AJ Hackett’s and both on the same bus. The swing runs solo or tandem, and a child pays NZ$285. The Catapult fires you 150 metres across the gorge, for NZ$295. They suit a group in which not everyone wants to jump. Book with AJ Hackett.

5. Tandem skydiving

The other way to fall over Queenstown. NZONE Skydive jumps over the Wakatipu basin from its drop zone near the Remarkables, and booking agents list 9,000, 12,000 and 15,000-foot jumps. From 15,000 feet, Destination Queenstown says, freefall lasts about a minute at around 200 kilometres an hour, and the clearest conditions come between November and April. We could not read NZONE’s own pages, so we cannot give its prices, age limit or weight limit: check them with the operator before you book.

Is bungy for you?

Six situations, and our honest answer to each. The verdict is our judgement from the operators’ published rules, not a promise; the plan is how to make it work.

Limits and risks

The figures are the operators’ own, read on 15 October 2026. Anyone 14 or under jumping at Kawarau needs an adult’s consent at check-in.

Bungy, swings and skydiving carry inherent risk. We have not assessed any operator’s safety, and you take part at your own risk under the operator’s terms. Each operator publishes its own health requirements: read them, and the waiver, before you book, and check that your travel insurance covers the activity, because some policies exclude adventure activities unless you add them.

The rules are public, at least. Under New Zealand’s adventure activity regulations, bungy and swing operators must pass a safety audit and be registered, and WorkSafe New Zealand keeps a public register of adventure activity operators where you can check any company. When we searched it on 16 October 2026, it listed the Shotover Canyon Swing at Arthurs Point, registered until February 2029, and two entries for AJ Hackett, under Queenstown Bungy Limited, at the Kawarau Bridge: canyon swinging and the zipline, both registered until February 2028. The only AJ Hackett bungy entry we found was for the Auckland Harbour Bridge, and we found no entry for the Nevis site. That may be down to how the register lists sites and activities, so search it yourself before you book. Skydiving sits outside those regulations: it is adventure aviation, overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Costs and booking

Book online with the operator. AJ Hackett’s terms are clear: if it cancels for weather or safety you get a full refund or a free reschedule; if you cancel more than 48 hours ahead you get your money back less a small card fee; within 48 hours, or if you fail to turn up, you lose it. Prices are in New Zealand dollars for one adult and change, so check the figure on the operator’s site when you book.

Weather, season and the day itself

These are all-year activities. AJ Hackett runs in most weather, including rain, and offers a transfer, a new time or a refund when conditions go beyond its operating limits; the Canyon Swing says it operates in all weathers. River levels matter at Kawarau, both for a water touch and for tandem jumps. Skydiving needs clear skies, and Destination Queenstown points to November to April as the clearest months.

Plan the day around the travel. Kawarau is about 23 kilometres out on the Gibbston road: an hour and a half there and back by car, three and a half on the Bungy Bus. Nevis takes about four hours with its bus. The Canyon Swing checks in on Shotover Street and takes you out to Arthurs Point. For buses and parking, see getting around Queenstown.

If it’s not for you

Watch instead. The deck at the Kawarau Bridge is free and sits right above the jump, and the Gibbston cellar doors are a few minutes up the road. For the feeling without the fall, the Zipride runs beside the river from age 8, with an adult at 8 and 9. For height with a seat under you, the gondola and luge on Bob’s Peak give a view over the whole town and lake, and for speed the jet boats on the Shotover are a thrill most of the family can share.

More to do in Queenstown

Gibbston

The Kawarau Bridge, the cellar doors and an easy trail among the vines.

Arthurs Point

The jet boats, the hot pools and the canyon, ten minutes out of town.

Bob’s Peak and Ben Lomond

The gondola, the luge and the long climb behind them.