I have done a few crazy things in my life and have been known to push the edge a little bit from time to time when prompted, but I have to say that today presented one of those thrill seeking moments that truly struck fear into my core. Queenstown New
The swing consists of a 50 meter freefall (that’s over 15 stories) and then another 60 meter controlled fall before swinging through a 200 meter arc. Now you might be saying, it is a swing and it is not so bad, but the staff at the Canyon Swing do their best to ensure that even the most courageous at heart get weak in the knees. There are several different options each jumper has available to “assist” you off of the platform perched high above the Shotover river canyon floor. Here are just a few:
Bin Laden– Staff tie your hands behind your back and put a bucket over your head before they push you off.
Cutaway– While hanging from the rigging in your harness, staff cut a small piece of rope holding you back… your weight determines how long you suffer.
Gimp Boy– You are hanging upside down ready for a fast rush of ground speed before staff send you on your way.
Elvis Cuttaway– Hanging from your back, your feet are crossed over the harness and you emulate the king on the way down.
Pin Drop– Staff “assist” you sideways off the platform with your hands behind your back.
The Chair- You are strapped to a chair and lean backwards until gravity sends you on your way.
Indian Rope Trick– You leave the platform and use your own strength to hang from a rope for as long as long as you can while being heckled from the crowd.
Off course there are several different variations and the boys at the platform are willing to let you try pretty much anything within reason… and reason has a whole different definition down here.
Wanting to totally freak myself out, I chose the chair release method. I guess I figured if I could not see it coming, it wouldn’t be as bad. I would eating those words with hot sauce on them in about 10 minutes time. Not knowing when you are going to drop or how, your mind starts to play some serious mental tricks on you. You know that you are going to be o.k., but there is a little part of your brain, that part that has been genetically programmed to ensure your survival, that reminds you that what
you are about to do should theoretically kill you. This, compounded by the fun loving staff who are trying to convince you that they are also going to kill you makes you wish you had used the bathroom before you hiked down to the platform.
Sitting in the chair trying to get the “balance point” right and build up my confidence to lean back took about 6 or 7 minutes. When I finally got the nerve and leaned back, the staff caught me shouting “oh no, oh no!” as if something were about to go terribly wrong. I immediately looked up just in time to watch them let me go so I thought I was done for. Like I said before, I had never been more terrified. The freefall that followed is just that, and unlike bungy, you actually accelerate as you drop on the swing and by the time you hit the arc you are going about 150km. Once I realized I was not going to smash my body on the rock face below, I caught my breath and enjoyed one hell of a ride.
The pics do it some justice and the video is hilarious (stay tuned) but you had to have been there to truly understand what happened today. It was hands down one of the scariest yet amazing things I have ever done. On the second jump I did a superman leap which wasn’t as climactic as the chair, but just as fun. No matter what you do, the Canyon Swing is hands down the thrill of a lifetime.
