Nevis Highwire Bungy

New Zealand's highest bungy, and the one people talk themselves into for weeks beforehand. The pod hangs on cables 134 metres above the Nevis River, out in country you cannot reach on your own — AJ Hackett runs it as the Nevis Bungy these days, though the Highwire name has stuck.

The fall lasts 8.5 seconds. That is long enough to stop being a decision and start being an experience.

Getting out there

You check in at the Queenstown Bungy Centre in the Station building on the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets, then it is about 45 minutes by bus through Central Otago, including a four-wheel-drive section into private back country. There is no public vehicle access to the Nevis, so the bus is the only way in. From the valley floor you ride a cable car out to the pod.

Allow four hours from town to back in town. The bus runs Thursday to Monday, departing at 8.40am, 10am and midday.

Practical detail

• Height: 134 metres, with 8.5 seconds of freefall
• Price: from $395, the same for adults and children, covering transport, photos and video, and a T-shirt. Spectators pay $50 to ride out and watch. Checked August 2026 — see bungy.co.nz for today's rate.
• Age: 13 and over. Under-15s need adult consent, and are better off with an adult along.
• Weight: between 45kg and 127kg
• How long: four hours all up
• Booking: required in practice, since the bus has fixed departures. Book 48 hours ahead and check in 30 minutes before your bus.

Worth knowing

It runs year-round but daylight limits the timetable, so winter departures are tighter than the long days either side of Christmas. Take a warm layer whatever the month — the Nevis valley is higher and colder than town, and you will be standing around outside between the bus, the cable car and your turn.

If 134 metres is more than you want, the Kawarau Bridge Bungy is a third of the height and half an hour closer. Or compare all the bungy options around Queenstown.