Breathtaking Safe Danger

“The only thing crazier than bungee jumping itself might be setting up a business helping other people to fling themselves off high surfaces,” Time’s Nick Carbone writes in an article about “destinations that are more than a vacation — they’re life-changing.” “Leave it to the folks down under to think of it. The first commercial bungee jumping operation began at the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown on. It sits 43m above the ground with breathtaking views of the New Zealand landscape. Co-founder Henry van Asch, an adventure sports junkie whose credentials include speed skiing and mountain bike racing created AJ Hackett Bungy with his equally daring pal AJ Hackett, and had a difficult time explaining the activity to friends. “We call it a personal challenge,” van Asch says. In 1988 Hackett and van Asch first experienced the head rush associated with plunging toward the ground — and they knew that people would pay good money for the thrill. “We want danger,” van Asch says, “but we want safe danger. It’s a strange paradox.”