HistoryQueenstownThursday, 1 January 2026
The world's first commercial bungy jump started here in 1988
AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch opened the world's first commercial bungy operation at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge, 43 metres above the river — and it still runs today.
In November 1988, AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch began charging thrill-seekers to leap off the 1880 Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge with latex rubber cords tied to their ankles. It was the world's first commercial bungy jump, and it turned Queenstown into the self-declared Adventure Capital of the World.
The original site still operates daily, 43 metres above the Kawarau River, and remains one of the few jumps anywhere where you can choose to touch the water.
Quick answers
- Where was the world's first commercial bungy jump?
- At the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge near Queenstown, New Zealand, opened by AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch in November 1988. It still operates today, 43 metres above the Kawarau River.
Sources
- The Kawarau Bridge bungy, opened November 1988, was the world's first commercial bungy jump. [source]