Queenstown Bungy Jump Over The Kawarau River And Into The Nevis Canyon

Which Queenstown Bungy Jump Matches Your Nerve Level?

The first question is height. Kawarau Bridge Bungy is a 43 m drop, 141 ft, from the original 1988 bridge over the Kawarau River. The Nevis Bungy is 134 m, 439 ft, which the operator describes as the highest bungy in New Zealand, with a stated plunge of 8.5 seconds. That gap is the single biggest decision. The three-question picker above narrows it further by asking site, budget and format, so a family with a 10-year-old lands on Kawarau before price even enters the conversation.

Age is the second filter. Kawarau takes jumpers from 10, the Nevis from 13. Under-18s need adult consent at check-in, and under-14s need an adult aged 18 or over on site, though that adult does not have to jump. Weight follows the same pattern: Kawarau accepts 35 to 160 kg solo and up to 235 kg combined on a tandem, while the Nevis range is 45 to 127 kg. Anyone near the edges of those bands should be ready for the crew to assess on the day, since operating ranges can shift with conditions.

What Each Queenstown Bungy Jump Costs From

Budget closes the choice. The adult from-prices on this page run from NZD 320 for the Kawarau Bridge Bungy and NZD 395 for the Nevis Bungy up to NZD 805 for the Nevis Thrillogy, which bundles the bungy, the swing and the Catapult. Combos apply the operator's nationwide discount rule, so the Nevis Bungy and Swing combo lists from NZD 620 against NZD 720 for the same two singles. Time matters too: Kawarau takes 1.5 hours self-driving or 2.5 hours by the Bungy Bus, while the Nevis is about 3.5 to 4 hours door to door. All prices are the operator's official "from" figures and move with date and time.

Who Each Option Suits By The Stated Rules

The reported constraints, not marketing, separate these six. Kawarau Bridge Bungy has the lowest age floor at 10, the widest solo weight range at 35 to 160 kg, and a tandem option capped at 235 kg combined with a maximum 30 kg difference between partners. It is the only option here open to a 10 to 12-year-old. The Kawarau Bungy and Swing combo inherits that floor and tightens solo weight to 35 to 150 kg, because the swing tops out there.

Every Nevis product requires 13 and over and 45 to 127 kg. The Nevis sits on private land with no self-drive access, so all four Nevis listings include the return 4WD Bungy Bus and meet at the Queenstown Bungy Centre on the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets. That adds a 45-minute ride each way and pushes total time to about 3.5 to 4 hours, a real constraint for anyone with a tight schedule.

The Nevis combos differ only in what rides alongside the jump. The Bungy and Swing combo, from NZD 620, adds the 300 m arc swing. The Bungy and Catapult combo, from NZD 590, adds the Catapult, which the operator says reaches up to 3 G. The Thrillogy, from NZD 805, takes all three. Cancellation terms are shared across all six listings: free up to 24 hours before the booking time, non-refundable inside it.

Kawarau Bridge Bungy: The Original Since 1988

The Kawarau Bridge Bungy is a 43 m drop, 141 ft, from the historic suspension bridge over the Kawarau River. By the operator's own telling, the world's first commercial bungy opened here in November 1988 at NZD 75 a jump, a venture the operator describes as recognised as the birth of adventure tourism in New Zealand. The company brands the site the World Home of Bungy, its claim to make and ours to report. AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch developed the bungy cord, and Hackett's Eiffel Tower jump of June 1987 is part of the same company history.

The jump itself is the most flexible on this page. The minimum age is 10, the solo weight range is 35 to 160 kg, and tandem jumps are available with a combined maximum of 235 kg and no more than 30 kg difference between partners. When the river is high, the solo maximum drops to 130 kg. The adult from-price is NZD 320, with children from NZD 280.

Two options shape the experience. A tandem lets two people jump together, subject to those weight rules. The water touch option aims to dip the jumper into the Kawarau River, but it is not guaranteed: it depends on river level and is at the crew's discretion on the day. Freefall duration is not stated by the operator for this jump, so treat any figure heard elsewhere with caution.

After the jump, recovery means being lowered from the bridge into a boat on the river below, a contrast with the platform winch used at the Nevis. Photos and video are included in the operator's direct-booking price with instant delivery to your device, plus an activity t-shirt; anyone booking through a listing should confirm what the listing includes before paying. Under-18s need adult consent at check-in and under-14s an adult on site, no participation required by that adult.

The Kawarau Site: Gibbston Valley, Free Parking, Free Spectators

Kawarau Bungy Centre sits on State Highway 6 in the Gibbston Valley, about 25 minutes and 23 km from Queenstown, or 30 minutes and 27 km from Cromwell. Parking is free, and spectators are free, which makes it the one Queenstown bungy jump site where a non-jumping group costs nothing to attend. Self-drivers should allow 1.5 hours for the visit; the free Bungy Bus from the Queenstown Bungy Centre stretches that to 2.5 hours, with seats limited and check-in 30 minutes before departure.

Hours shift with the seasons. October to April, the site runs 8:30 am to 5:00 pm; May to September, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. It opens daily including public holidays, closing only on Christmas Day. The last jump is 30 minutes before close, and check-in is 15 minutes before your jump time.

On paper, this is the site for a first jump, and only the stated facts are needed to say so. The age floor of 10 is the lowest of any product here, three years below the Nevis. The solo weight range of 35 to 160 kg is wider on both ends than the Nevis 45 to 127 kg. Tandem jumping lets a nervous first-timer go strapped to someone else, and the water touch option, when the river and crew allow it, gives the drop a finish the pod-based Nevis cannot offer. The boat recovery, being lowered rather than winched, rounds out a setup designed around accessibility rather than raw height. For anything the published pages do not cover, such as clothing detail beyond harness fit, the operator's phone lines are the place to ask.

How High Is Each Queenstown Bungy Jump?

Three heights matter, as the operator states them. The Kawarau Bridge Bungy drops 43 m, or 141 ft, from the historic suspension bridge over the Kawarau River. The Ledge Bungy, perched at the top of the Skyline Gondola, is 47 m, or 154 ft, off its platform, and is reopening for summer 26/27 according to the operator, with a waitlist rather than open booking. The Nevis Bungy drops 134 m, or 439 ft, from a cable-car pod hung in a high-country gorge, and the operator calls it the highest bungy in New Zealand, its own claim.

The ratio is worth spelling out. Divide 134 by 43 and you get a little over three: the Nevis drop is more than three times the Kawarau drop. That single number explains most of the price gap between the two and much of the atmosphere around them. It is also why the operator's stated fall time at the Nevis, 8.5 seconds, reads the way it does. For the Kawarau, no fall time is stated on the operator's pages, and none is invented here.

Where The Ledge Fits In The Height Order

The Ledge sits between the two, slightly taller than Kawarau at 47 m, and structurally different from both: the operator describes a waist harness and a run-and-jump exit rather than a ankle-tie drop from a fixed platform. Until it reopens, a Queenstown bungy jump means choosing between 43 m and 134 m, or taking both. The full height ladder, including feet conversions and the Ledge's reopening status, is set out in the table above.

What The Height Difference Changes In Practice

The height gap shows up in the entry rules first. Kawarau takes jumpers from age 10 and from 35 kg; the Nevis floor is age 13 and 45 kg, with a 127 kg maximum against Kawarau's 160 solo. Families with younger or lighter kids are steered to the bridge by the numbers alone. The price step follows: from NZD 320 at Kawarau to NZD 395 at the Nevis, a difference of NZD 75.

Logistics differ too. Kawarau sits on SH6 in the Gibbston Valley, about 25 minutes from Queenstown by road, and allows self-drive with a total visit of about 1.5 hours, or 2.5 hours on the free Bungy Bus. The Nevis is on private land with no self-drive option; the 4WD Bungy Bus is included and the trip runs about 3.5 to 4 hours. Recovery is the final difference the operator describes: Kawarau jumpers are lowered to a boat on the river, while at the Nevis you are lifted back up to the platform.

The Swings And The Zipride As Context

A Queenstown bungy jump is not the only way off a platform. The Nevis Swing, in the operator's telling, sweeps a 300 m arc, solo or tandem, from age 10. The Kawarau Swing runs 43 m, single, tandem or triple, from age 8. For a gentler line, the Kawarau Zipride covers 130 m at 60 kph, from NZD 50. These frame the bungy drops without matching them, and they share the same sites, transport and check-in rules, which makes them easy add-ons if the full drop is not on your list.

How A Kawarau Bridge Day Runs, From The Bungy Bus To The Boat

The day starts in central Queenstown. The free Bungy Bus leaves from the Queenstown Bungy Centre, on the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets, in The Station building, and riders are asked to check in 30 minutes before departure. Seats on the bus are limited, so a spot on the vehicle is not automatic even when the jump itself is confirmed.

Self-drive is the alternative. Kawarau Bungy Centre sits on State Highway 6 in the Gibbston Valley, about 23 km and 25 minutes from Queenstown, and self-drivers check in 15 minutes before their jump time. Free parking is on site. Whichever way you arrive, the sequence on the ground is the same: check in, get fitted for the harness, and wait for your call onto the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge.

The jump itself is a 43 m drop from the original 1988 bridge, the site the operator brands the World Home of Bungy. A tandem option exists for pairs who want to go together, and a water touch option lets jumpers ask for contact with the river below, though the operator states this is not guaranteed and depends on river level and crew discretion on the day.

Recovery is part of the experience. At Kawarau the jumper is lowered into a boat rather than winched back to the platform, which is what happens at the other two Queenstown sites. Once back on dry land, photos and video taken on the bridge are delivered instantly to your device on the operator's direct bookings, along with an activity t-shirt.

Timing is predictable. Allow 1.5 hours for the whole visit if self-driving, or 2.5 hours if riding the Bungy Bus. The site is open daily except Christmas Day, with the last jump 30 minutes before close, so an afternoon slot still leaves the evening free in Queenstown.

Anyone under 18 needs adult consent at check-in, and under 14s need an adult aged 18 or over on site, though that adult does not have to take part. Spectators are free at Kawarau, which makes the bridge a workable outing for a group where only one person books the Queenstown bungy jump.

A Nevis Day: The Four-Wheel Drive In, The 134 M Drop, The Ride Back

The Nevis does not begin at a bridge you can drive to. Everyone meets at the Queenstown Bungy Centre on the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets, and from there the operator's 4WD Bungy Bus covers the 45-minute ride each way across private land to the Nevis Playground. The return transport is included in the jump price, and no self-drive option exists.

The jump is made from a cable-car pod above the Nevis River gorge. The operator states the drop is 134 m, its figure for the highest bungy in New Zealand, with an 8.5 second plunge. Weight rules run 45 to 127 kg and the minimum age is 13, tighter than Kawarau's 10, so mixed family groups should check ages before committing to the site.

Allow about 3.5 to 4 hours for the whole trip. The operator's pages give both figures depending on which transport text you read, and either way most of that time is the bus: roughly 90 minutes of total driving plus check-in, the fitting, the jump and the ride back to town.

Non-jumpers can come along. A spectator spot at Nevis costs NZD 50 for adults, covering transport by bus and cable car, and is free for children under 10. The Nevis Explorer, a spectator-only trip with no activity, is also NZD 50. It is a different deal from Kawarau, where spectators watch for free from the bridge decks.

Photos and video are delivered instantly to your device on the operator's direct bookings, and that direct price also includes an activity t-shirt. Anyone booking through a listing should confirm what the listing includes before paying, because the media bundle is the operator's own direct-booking benefit.

One planning note from the operator's own FAQ: in summer the Nevis Bungy should be booked 4 to 6 weeks ahead, and the busiest stretch of the year is late December into early January. Outside that window, 48 hours is usually enough lead time for a Queenstown bungy jump at this site.

When To Jump: Hours By Season At Each Site

Kawarau keeps the clearest schedule of the three sites. It opens daily including public holidays, and closes only on Christmas Day. From October to April the hours run 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, and from May to September they shift to 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. The last jump of the day is 30 minutes before close, and check-in is 15 minutes before your slot if you self-drive, 30 minutes before the bus departs if you ride the Bungy Bus.

The Nevis operates year round, but departure times vary rather than following a fixed daily window. Because every trip is built around the 45-minute 4WD bus ride each way, the operator releases departure times per session and the whole outing runs about 3.5 to 4 hours from the Queenstown Bungy Centre. Booking a Nevis slot is really booking a bus departure, so the time on your ticket matters more than the jump itself.

The Ledge, when it reopens for summer 26/27 per the operator, runs 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm seven days a week, an evening-friendly window that matches its position above the town at the top of the Skyline Gondola. Arrive 15 minutes before the jump, and remember the gondola itself is bought separately from Skyline.

Seasonal demand matters more than the clock. The operator's FAQ says to book the Nevis Bungy 4 to 6 weeks ahead in summer, names 15 December to 15 January as peak, and flags 30 December to 2 January as the busiest stretch of the year. Outside peak, 48 hours is usually enough notice for either site.

For anyone weighing a Queenstown bungy jump against the rest of a trip itinerary, the short version: Kawarau is a half-day outing at 1.5 hours self-drive or 2.5 hours by bus, the Nevis is a closer-to-half-day commitment with fixed transport, and morning versus afternoon is a matter of which departure has seats left.

Weather, Cancellation, And What Happens If A Jump Is Called Off

Rain does not stop a Queenstown bungy jump. The operator states it runs in most weather including rain, and jumpers should expect to be on the bridge or in the pod in conditions that would cancel other activities. What matters is the safety threshold: if weather or safety considerations stop operation, the options are a transfer, a reschedule, or a full refund.

Cancellation on the customer side follows a 24-hour line. Cancel or change more than 24 hours before the booking time and it is fully refundable, minus the 1.99% card transaction fee, which the operator lists as non-refundable. Inside 24 hours the booking is non-refundable, and a no-show or a decision not to jump on the day gets no refund. That last point is worth sitting with before you stand on the platform.

Weather also shapes one quiet detail at Kawarau. When the river is high, the maximum solo and tandem weight drops to 130 kg from the usual 160, because river level feeds into the water touch question and the boat recovery below the bridge. Weather can change the operating weight ranges at any site, and the crew assesses on the day.

Timing around the holidays is the other practical lever. Peak runs 15 December to 15 January, the busiest four days are 30 December to 2 January, and the operator's own advice is 4 to 6 weeks ahead for a summer Nevis booking, with 48 hours usually sufficient outside peak. The Nevis Bungy currently shows a 5.0 rating from 122 reviews, and summer seats are the scarce commodity.

Payment options cover most travellers: Visa, Mastercard, EFTPOS, WeChat Pay, AliPay, UnionPay and Afterpay, all subject to that 1.99% card fee. The operator also runs a best price guarantee, matching a cheaper live price if you contact them before booking, which is a reason to check their phone lines before committing to any date.

The Ledge Bungy: Reopening For Summer 26/27 Per The Operator

The Ledge is the middle child of the three sites, and right now it is the one you cannot buy. The Ledge Bungy runs from a platform 47 m, or 154 ft, above Queenstown with a waist harness and a run-and-jump exit; the Ledge Swing drops 21 m, or 69 ft. The operator's text and FAQ still carry prices of NZD 240 for the Ledge Bungy and NZD 210 for the Ledge Swing, with the Skyline gondola ticket not included, but the booking widget shows no price and no availability.

What the operator shows instead is a notice reading "Coming Summer 26/27" with a waitlist. In plain terms, the Ledge Bungy and Ledge Swing are not bookable now, which is why neither appears among the six bookable options compared on this site. Anyone set on a Queenstown bungy jump off Bob's Peak should join the waitlist or watch the operator's pages for a firm reopening date.

How The Ledge Differs When It Returns

Two practical details separate it from the other sites. First, access: the jump sits at the top of the Skyline Gondola, whose ticket office is at the top of Brecon Street, about a five minute walk from downtown, and the gondola fare is bought separately from Skyline. A Tiki Trail walk of roughly an hour is the leg-powered alternative. Second, recovery: Ledge jumpers are lifted back to the platform rather than lowered, as at the Nevis, instead of the boat recovery used at Kawarau. Hours when open run 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm, seven days, closed Christmas Day, with check-in 15 minutes before the jump.

Spectators, Photos And The Zipride Side Option

Watching costs nothing at Kawarau. Spectators are free at the Bungy Centre in the Gibbston Valley, and the site has free parking, so a non-jumping companion can drive out and still see the whole thing. The Nevis is different: the site is on private land, reached only by the operator's bus, so a spectator spot costs NZD 50 per adult and is free for children under 10. There is also the Nevis Explorer, a NZD 50 spectator trip with no activity attached.

Photos and video come with the operator's direct price, with instant delivery to your device plus an activity t-shirt. The same caveat as above applies: anyone booking a Queenstown bungy jump or swing through a listing should confirm what that listing includes before paying, because the operator's direct inclusions do not automatically carry across.

The Kawarau Zipride For NZD 50

For companions or nervous travellers, the Zipride is the low-commitment option at the Kawarau site: 130 m, or 426 ft, at 60 kph, NZD 50 for adults and children alike, with a minimum age of 8 and a 30 to 150 kg range. Children aged 8 or 9 ride tandem with an adult aged 20 or over. Unlike the jumps and swings, the Zipride page lists photos only, no video, and Zipride is excluded from the operator's combo discount rules.

On site, payments span Visa, Mastercard, EFTPOS, WeChat Pay, AliPay, UnionPay and Afterpay, with the 1.99 percent non-refundable card fee on top.

Where To Sleep Before A Queenstown Bungy Jump

Town is the practical base for both sites, because every Nevis departure and the free Kawarau Bungy Bus leave from the Queenstown Bungy Centre at the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets. From there the Kawarau Bungy Centre is about 25 minutes by road, roughly 23 km out in the Gibbston Valley, while the Nevis involves a 45-minute ride each way on the operator's 4WD bus. Staying central puts you a short walk from check-in.

The three stays shown below cover the usual spread. The budget option sits up on Henry Street, away from the lake but still within the town grid. The mid-range pick occupies the corner of Earl Street and Marine Parade, right in the centre of the dining strip. The upper-tier property fronts Lake Esplanade, a quieter stretch of water. None of the three changes the maths much: whichever you choose, both jump sites start from the same street corner.