Taupo Bungee Jump New Zealand

Located in the Waikato River Valley, upstream of Huka Falls, and just 5 minutes from the Great Lake. This is the place for New Zealand's Highest Water Touch Bungee Jumping.

For those who do not consider it a sport:

Bungee jumping (or bungy jumping) is the sport that originated from New Zealand and was created by maverick daredevil A J Hackett, and his original jump from Kawarau Bridge between Queenstown and Cromwell, near the Nevis Bluff and the Gibbston Valley. The sport denotes jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large rubber cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge, or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or a helicopter, that has the ability to hover over one spot on the ground; fixed-wing aircraft are clearly unsuitable because they only stay aloft when moving rapidly forward. The intense thrill comes as much from the free-falls as from the rebounds.

When the person jumps, the cord stretches to absorb the energy of the fall, then the jumper flies upwards again as the cord snaps back. The jumper oscillates up and down until all the energy is used up.

There is a wide spectrum of possible injuries during a jump. One can be injured during a jump if the safety harness fails, the cord elasticity is miscalculated, or the cord is not properly connected to the jump platform. In most cases this is a result of human error in the form of mishandled harness preparation. Another major injury is if the jumper experiences cord entanglement with his/her own body. Other injuries include eye trauma, rope burn, uterine prolapse, dislocations, bruises, pinched fingers and back injury.

Age, equipment, experience, location and weight are some of the factors, and nervousness can exacerbate eye traumas.

In 1997, Laura Patterson, one of a 16-member professional bungee jumping team, died of massive cranial trauma when she jumped from the top level of the Louisiana Superdome with improperly handled bungee cords and smashed head-first into the concrete-based playing field. She was practicing for an exhibition intended to be performed during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXI. The bungee jumping portion of the show was removed from the program and a commemoration of Patterson was added.

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