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AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand co-founder Henry van Asch revealed a new world-first adventure tourism experience – the Nevis Catapult – in the remote Nevis Valley near Queenstown, New Zealand.

The Catapult sees thrill seekers experience up to 3G of force and speeds of almost 100 kmph in 1.5 seconds, as they are propelled 150 m out across a ravine before dropping suddenly towards the valley floor and experiencing a series of jaw-dropping bounces.

The official opening of this experience brings to fruition three decades of planning and development by Henry van Asch and the AJ Hackett Bungy NZ team.

Asch officially opened the Catapult experience by being launched across the Nevis Valley with special guests and media watching on. “It’s a pretty unique feeling, surprising even. There’s nothing else quite like it,” he said.

Housed in a pod and between a series of cables, alongside the infamous Nevis Swing, the Catapult is a unique combination of height, flight and speed using a bespoke high-speed winch system developed over years of research.

Specialist new technology for the multi-million-dollar Catapult was developed with the company’s research team before being built in an accredited testing facility in Christchurch and then brought to site for full-scale installation, testing and commissioning. Testing has been conducted out-of-sight over the past nine months, beginning with weighted barrels, before moving on to a test dummy phase and finally human testing.

“AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand is the epitome of the Kiwi entrepreneurial spirit and their investment in cutting-edge technology and new thrills is an example of how New Zealand continues to be at the forefront of adventure tourism,” stated Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive, Stephen England-Hall.

He also believes, “the Nevis Catapult will inspire thrill seekers from all over the world to come to Queenstown to push their limits further than they have ever been able to.”

The Catapult is developed to internationally recognised global safety standards and regulated under New Zealand adventure tourism and amusement device standards.

Source: travelnewsdigest.in