April 18th B, Queenstown

In the afternoon I opted to go on the Shotover Canyon Swing. There were 10 of us jumping from a platform high on the canyon wall down into the gorge carved by the Shotover River. You go through a 60 meter free fall and drop an 49 meters while
swinging through at 200 meter arc at a peak speed of 150 kilometers per hour. The staff is extremely professional and they have a perfect safety record but it still requires a trip outside your comfort zone to hurl yourself off that platform. I opted for a back dive since they claimed it was one of the scariest take offs to do. IT WAS A RUSH.

Just before it was my turn it started to rain and the there was a little freezing rain. My biggest concern was over the jerk you would receive as you reached bottom, but it was minimal as the swing motion translated vertical motion into a horizontal and vertical component. The interesting thing was I was not nervous at all being hoisted back up to the platform 360 feet overhead, in large part because my mind was still dealing with the decent and that I ad come through OK! An incredible experience!!!






1. Jumping Platform 2. Pre Jump Instruction


3. Just After Point of No Return 4. Near End of 60 Meter Free Fall



5. The Smile of a Survivor