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Everyone is familiar with the human canons from the circus. But New Zealand and its love of extreme outdoor adventure sports takes it to another level with the world's largest human catapult. The Nevis Catapult is the largest human catapult in the world and a must for adrenaline junkies. If one has jumped off a bridge, now it's time to be shot across a valley.
As New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are the reverse of the Northern Hemisphere. While the North is sweltering in the summer heat, New Zealand's Queenstown is transformed into the leading ski resort of the South. The winters are mild enough in New Zealand to permit most outdoor sports to continue operating even during the winter months.
AJ Hackett Bungy - The World's Most Experienced Bungy Company Terrifying Its Tourists
New Zealand is the home of the world's first commercial bungy jumping site (also just out of Queenstown located in the Kawarau Gorge, the filming location for the mighty Argonath or Pillar of the Kings from Lord of the Rings).
The world's largest human catapult is the same company operating the oldest Kawarau Gorge bungee jump and the Nevis Swing, the largest swing in the world. They have been pushing and kicking petrified tourists off bridges for decades now (some even choose to go in the nude — it's New Zealand).
Extreme Activities Offered By AJ Hacket Bungy:
- Oldest Bungy Jump
- Other Bungy Jumps In NZ (Including 3rd Highest In The World)
- Largest Swing
- Largest Human Catapult
- Hair-Raising Ziplines
If one is too scared to take the jump, don't worry. The staff will be perfectly happy to kick you off the bridge to one's certain death-defying thrill.
What To Know About The World's Largest Human Catapult
The Nevis Catapult is the chance to embrace one's inner superhero - or not and just scream for mommy to the top of one's lungs. It doesn't matter, just do it.
Experience the thrill of taking flight across the Nevis Canyon just out of Queenstown as one is propelled 150 meters or 450 feet out across the valley.
- Cost: NZD$230 or USD$145
- Force: 3Gs
- Length: 150 meters or 450 feet
Visitors are propelled at speeds of up to 3Gs of force that's followed up with a thrilling rebound. The adrenaline rush from this catapult is hard to find an equal elsewhere.
For context, the g force of standing on the earth is 1 g while the uninhibited sneeze after sniffing ground pepper is 2.9g. The highest g force of a high-g roller coaster is a whopping 6.3 g and the max the pilots experienced in Top Gun: Maverick was 9 g.
If one is wondering what it's like to be shot out over a valley on a catapult, that's easy to answer. It's terrifying.
How To Plan For A Shot On The Nevis Catapult
No one should visit Queenstown and miss out on the Nevis Catapult (and the Nevis swing, the bungee jumps, the ski fields, jet boating, ski diving... — the list of "must-dos" in Queenstown is impossibly long).
Plan ahead and dress in one's brown pants and ready oneself for some good old Kiwi fun. It is not possible to drive by oneself to the launch site. Visitors need to go to the meeting point in Queenstown and hop on their 4WD bus that then growls its way up the narrow gravel track.
- Minimum Age: 13 Years Old
- Weight Range: Between 45 kg to 137 kg or 100 lbs to 300 lbs
- Duration: 4 Hours (Total Round Trip)
The trip times for the Bungy Bus vary throughout the year, refer to their calendar for the schedules. It is a year-round attraction and doesn't stop in the winter (like most attractions in New Zealand). If one is going in the winter, dress in layers to keep warm.
Discover what makes Queenstown not only the adventure capital of New Zealand but also one of the leading outdoor adventure capitals of the world.
Whether flying solo or with one's friends or partner, New Zealand is the place lasting and fond memories are made and cherished for a lifetime.