How High Are The Bungy Jumps In Queenstown? Every Drop Compared

How High Are The Bungy Jumps In Queenstown?

Queenstown's three bungy jumps sit at 43 m, 47 m and 134 m. The Kawarau Bridge Bungy drops 43 m (141 ft), the Ledge Bungy falls 47 m (154 ft) from its platform, with the operator confirming a summer 26/27 reopening, and the Nevis Bungy plunges 134 m (439 ft), which the operator calls New Zealand's highest.

One company, AJ Hackett Bungy NZ, runs every bungy in Queenstown across three sites: the Kawarau Bungy Centre in the Gibbston Valley, the Nevis Playground on private land in the mountains, and The Ledge at the top of the Skyline Gondola. Only Kawarau and Nevis are bookable through tour pages at the moment, because the operator lists The Ledge as "Coming Summer 26/27" with a waitlist and no price showing in its booking widget.

Heights matter here more than almost any other number. The gap between 43 m and 134 m is roughly three times the drop, and it changes who can jump: Kawarau takes jumpers from age 10 and from 35 kg, while Nevis starts at age 13 and 45 kg. The height also changes the day itself, since Nevis sits on private land reached only by a 4WD Bungy Bus, a 45-minute ride each way, while Kawarau is 23 km from Queenstown on State Highway 6 with free parking.

This page compares every drop the operator states, in metres and feet exactly as its own pages give them, and adds the swing, catapult and zipride figures for context so you can see the whole picture in one place. Where a figure is the operator's own wording or claim, it stays attributed, and where nothing is stated, nothing is invented. If a number you want is missing, the operator takes questions on 0800 286 4958 or +64 3 450 1300.

The Nevis Bungy: 134 M / 439 Ft

The Nevis Bungy drops 134 m / 439 ft, the highest bungy in New Zealand per the operator's own wording and the biggest figure on any of its Queenstown pages. You jump from a cable car pod over the canyon for an 8.5-second plunge, are lifted back up to the platform afterwards, and prices start at NZD 395 with a minimum age of 13 and a weight range of 45 to 127 kg.

The 134 m figure is the headline, but the shape of the experience is unusual. Because the pod hangs over the Nevis canyon, the drop runs from a cable car rather than a bridge or a platform, and the operator says the ride out and back is part of the product: a 45-minute 4WD Bungy Bus journey each way on private land where self-drive is not possible. Total time is about 3.5 to 4 hours, since the operator's activity page says 3.5 hours and its transport text says 4.

That time budget is worth planning around. A Kawarau jump can fit into about 1.5 hours if you drive yourself, but a Nevis jump is closer to half a day door to door. The trade is the drop: 8.5 seconds of freefall is the operator's stated figure, and no other Queenstown bungy publishes a fall-time number at all. Kawarau's freefall seconds are simply not stated on any page.

The Nevis Bungy is rated 5.0 across 122 reviews, and the price is the operator's from NZD 395 for both adults and children, with no lower child price for this product. Nevis spectators pay NZD 50 as adults and are free under 10, unlike Kawarau where watching costs nothing. Bookings in summer should go in 4 to 6 weeks ahead according to the operator, whose peak runs 15 December to 15 January with the busiest days 30 December to 2 January.

If the biggest drop is the goal, the natural upgrade path is a combo. The Nevis Combo, Bungy & Swing pairs the 134 m bungy with the Nevis Swing's 300 m / 984 ft arc, and the operator prices it from NZD 620, saying you save NZD 100 against booking the two separately. The details of the swing itself sit further down this page.

For everything the operator publishes about this site, the operator's Nevis Bungy page carries the current figures, departure notes and booking terms.

The Kawarau Bridge Bungy: 43 M / 141 Ft

The Kawarau Bridge Bungy is a 43 m / 141 ft jump from the original 1988 bridge in the Gibbston Valley, a site its operator brands as the World Home of Bungy. Adult prices start at NZD 320 and child prices at NZD 280, jumpers must be at least 10 years old and between 35 and 160 kg, and every jumper is lowered to a boat on the river below.

The height is the smallest of the three, but the history is the largest. According to the operator, the world's first commercial bungy opened at this bridge in November 1988 at NZD 75 a jump, and the company calls the site recognised as the birth of adventure tourism in New Zealand. AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch developed the bungy cord, and in the company's own telling, Hackett jumped the Eiffel Tower in June 1987 before bringing the operation here.

Those claims belong to the operator and are repeated here as its wording, not as an independent ranking. What the height table can say plainly: 43 m is roughly a third of the Nevis drop, and for many first-time jumpers that is exactly the point. Kawarau takes jumpers from age 10 and from 35 kg, it offers tandem jumps with a combined maximum of 235 kg and at most a 30 kg difference between partners, and the maximum solo weight drops to 130 kg when the river is high.

The water touch is the site's signature option, and it is the clearest example of how the operator words conditional things. You can request a dunk in the river, but whether it happens depends on the river level and the crew's call on the day. The same caution applies to the whole calendar: the operator runs in most weather including rain, and if weather or safety stops operation, you can transfer, reschedule or take a full refund.

Getting there is simple. The site sits on SH6 in the Gibbston Valley, about 25 minutes and 23 km from Queenstown, with free parking and free spectator access. Allow 1.5 hours self-driving or 2.5 hours if you take the free Bungy Bus, which leaves from the Queenstown Bungy Centre at the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets with check-in 30 minutes before departure.

The decision between this and the 134 m drop is really a decision between convenient history and the biggest number. If price is the deciding factor, the full price breakdown for every Queenstown bungy covers each product, and the operator's own Kawarau Bridge page states the current heights and options.

The Ledge Bungy: 47 M / 154 Ft

The Ledge Bungy is 47 m / 154 ft off its platform above Queenstown at the top of the Skyline Gondola, and the Ledge Swing is 21 m / 69 ft. Both are listed by the operator as "Coming Summer 26/27" with a waitlist and no price in the booking widget, so neither is bookable through this site now. The operator's FAQ text gives Ledge Bungy from NZD 240 and Ledge Swing from NZD 210, with the gondola ticket bought separately.

At 47 m, the Ledge sits between Kawarau and nothing else: it is slightly higher than the 43 m bridge but far below Nevis. Its differences are structural rather than numerical. The jump uses a waist harness and a run-and-jump style rather than a static platform, and recovery is by being lifted back to the platform. Ages run from 10 with weights of 35 to 127 kg for the bungy, and 30 to 107 kg for the swing.

The catch is availability. The operator's own pages show the waitlist status rather than a booking price, so any reader planning around the Ledge should check the operator's Queenstown overview for the current status before counting on it. When it does run, the site's opening pattern is 1:00pm to 8:00pm seven days, closed Christmas Day, with arrival 15 minutes before your jump, and access is via the Skyline Gondola with a ticket office at the top of Brecon Street, a five-minute walk from downtown.

For this comparison, treat 47 m as a middle option that may exist by the time you travel, not one you can book today. The two bookable families remain Kawarau at 43 m and Nevis at 134 m, and every age, weight and price figure in the rest of this page belongs to those two.

How The Swing, Catapult And Zipride Drops Compare

The Nevis Swing covers the longest arc at 300 m / 984 ft, while the Nevis Catapult propels riders 150 m / 492 ft with up to 3Gs, the operator says, the Kawarau Zipride runs 130 m / 426 ft at 60 kph, and the Kawarau Swing is the shortest at 43 m / 141 ft; none are bungy drops, though they share the same sites.

None of these figures is a straight vertical drop, which is why they sit in their own table rather than mixed in with the bungys. A swing arc measures the path through the air, a catapult figure measures how far you are flung, and a zipride measures the line you travel. Comparing the Nevis Swing's 300 m arc against the Nevis Bungy's 134 m drop as if both were heights would mislead, but seeing them side by side is exactly how people end up booking the combo. The rest of the planning pages sit on Queenstown Bungy Jump.

The catapult needs careful wording, because the operator's own pages give differing speed figures for it. This page uses only one set: riders are propelled 150 m with up to 3Gs, the operator says. No kilometres-per-hour figure is printed here, and the swing and catapult sold on their own carry no published ratings or review counts, so none appears.

The four bookable combos are where these heights meet the bungy table. The Nevis Thrillogy: Bungy, Swing, Catapult stacks the 134 m drop, the 300 m arc and the 150 m catapult into one product the operator prices from NZD 805, saying you save NZD 210. The Kawarau Combo, Bungy & Swing pairs the 43 m drop with the 43 m swing from NZD 460. For the full picture of stacked products and the operator's multi-activity discounts, the Queenstown bungy combo deals guide works through each one.

Every Bookable Bungy: Height, Price From, Minimum Age

The two bookable bungys compare like this: Nevis at 134 m / 439 ft, from NZD 395, age 13+, 45 to 127 kg; Kawarau at 43 m / 141 ft, from NZD 320 adult, age 10+, 35 to 160 kg. The Ledge at 47 m / 154 ft reappears for summer 26/27 per the operator, from NZD 240 in its FAQ text, age 10+. Every price in this section is the operator's own from-price and changes by date and time.

Ratings sit with single products and never move. The Nevis Bungy is rated 5.0 across 122 reviews; the Kawarau Bridge Bungy is rated 4.9 with no stated review count; the Nevis Bungy & Swing Combo is rated 5.0 with no count. The other combos carry no ratings at all, and no comparison between ratings is made here.

Cancellation is one rule across the operator's products: cancel or change more than 24 hours ahead for a full refund minus the 1.99% card fee, and under 24 hours, a no-show, or deciding not to jump on the day is non-refundable. The cancellation and weather guide covers what happens when the day itself turns.

Does A Higher Jump Change Who Can Go?

Yes, and more than most expect. The 134 m Nevis jump takes ages 13 and up within 45 to 127 kg, while the 43 m Kawarau bridge takes ages 10 and up within 35 to 160 kg, so younger, lighter or heavier jumpers are steered to Kawarau by the numbers alone. Under 18s need adult consent at check-in, and under 14s need an adult aged 18 or over on site, who does not have to take part.

The weight end of the range matters as much as the age end. Kawarau's solo and tandem maximum is 160 kg, dropping to 130 kg when the river is high, and tandem pairs are capped at a 235 kg combined weight with at most a 30 kg difference between partners. Nevis holds its 45 to 127 kg line across the bungy, the catapult and every Nevis combo. Weather can change operating weight ranges on the day, and the crew assesses each jumper, so a stated range is a starting point rather than a promise.

There is no strict height limit on any product, the operator says, but you must fit the harness. Health disclosures run on the operator's list rather than any general rule: tell the crew about blood pressure, heart conditions, epilepsy, diabetes, asthma, prosthetics, panic or anxiety attacks and recent injuries, among others, and pregnant guests and people with photosensitive epilepsy cannot take part. The only advice worth giving beyond the operator's own list is to check with your doctor and tell the crew when you book. The full detail sits in the bungy age limit guide and the medical conditions guide.

For families, the numbers do the sorting. A ten-year-old can jump the 43 m bridge but not the 134 m canyon, and an adult can be on site for supervision without jumping at either. The Queenstown bungy with kids guide walks through the whole scenario.

Which Height Should You Choose?

Choose Nevis if the biggest number is your reason to travel, because its 134 m / 439 ft drop is the highest the operator offers in New Zealand. Choose Kawarau for the original 1988 bridge, a lower from-price, the youngest minimum age, a tandem option or boat recovery in the river, or a combo from NZD 460 for Kawarau's pair if you want more than one height in a single day.

The honest framing is that no jump here is a consolation prize. The 43 m bridge is the site the operator calls the World Home of Bungy, the place where commercial bungy began in November 1988, and a third of the height does not mean a third of the significance for many travellers. The 134 m jump is a different scale of commitment: half a day, a canyon pod, an 8.5 second fall in the operator's figures, and a higher from-price.

Budget and time often decide it before courage does. A self-drive Kawarau jump takes about 1.5 hours out of a Queenstown day, against roughly 4 hours all-in for Nevis with its compulsory 4WD bus. On price, the operator's from-prices are NZD 320 versus NZD 395, and booking two or more activities nationwide takes NZD 50 off per activity, rising to NZD 70 off per activity for three or more, per the operator's discount rules. Repeat customers get 20% off a future single activity, with combos excluded.

One more operator-side detail worth knowing: the operator runs a best price guarantee and will match a cheaper live price if you contact it before booking, on 0800 286 4958. Booking direct also includes photos, video and an activity t-shirt, per the operator. For the deeper comparison of how each jump actually differs on the day, the which Queenstown bungy is best guide makes the case for each.

What Trips People Up When Comparing Heights

Three traps catch height-shoppers. First, the Ledge's 47 m looks bookable on a height chart but is waitlisted for summer 26/27, per the operator, with no price in its widget. Second, swing and catapult figures are arcs and distances, not drops, so a 300 m swing arc does not mean a 300 m bungy. Third, every price moves by date and time, so the from-price compared today is the floor, not the quote.

The first trap wastes planning time. A reader who builds an itinerary around the Ledge Bungy's 47 m and a 1:00pm opening time may arrive to find a waitlist page, so treat that column as provisional and confirm status with the operator before locking in the rest of a day.

The second trap is arithmetic. The Nevis Swing's 300 m / 984 ft arc, the catapult's 150 m / 492 ft propulsion figure and the zipride's 130 m / 426 ft line belong to different kinds of motion. Only the three bungy figures, 43 m, 47 m and 134 m, are vertical drops, and mixing them into one ranked list produces a meaningless ladder.

The third trap is the quiet one. Prices on this page are the operator's from-prices in NZD, and the operator says plainly that they change by date and time. Peak season, 15 December to 15 January, is when both the price and the crowd pressure are highest, and the operator's own advice is to book Nevis 4 to 6 weeks ahead in summer. Outside peak, about 48 hours ahead is usually enough, the operator says.

Common Questions About Bungy Jump Heights In Queenstown