The catapult was invented thousands of years ago by the Greeks. Its only purpose was to be used as a deadly weapon. Soldiers would use a catapult to hurl stones, spears or anything else towards their enemies that may hurt them. It was very effective. At that time, no one really thought of loading a catapult with a human being. Today, things are different.

The idea of creating a human catapult first came to Henry van Asch, co-founder of AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand, thirty years ago. Before he was able to develop his idea, he created commercial bungy jumping in 1988 with his partner, AJ Hackett.

Now, after several years of intensive research and nine months of testing, he has created the world’s biggest catapult for humans. For all those thrill seekers who travel the world looking for the craziest and wildest things to do, they may have finally found their dream: The Nevis Catapult.

It is located at Nevis Valley near Queenstown, New Zealand. You have to ride on a four-wheel-drive bus to get there. It also takes quite a while for you to get strapped in. Once you are ready to go, you are propelled 150 metres across the ravine. You reach a speed of nearly 100 kilometres per hour in 1.5 seconds before dropping down towards Nevis Valley.

The inventor had this to say:

“Seeing an idea that you had as a crazy kid come to life 30 years later is hard to describe. But what I love most about the catapult is it gives people another opportunity to push the boundaries, challenge themselves, and to live more and fear less.”

The Nevis Catapult has proved to be a big success. Please note though, if you want to try it, you must be 13 years old or over. You should also weigh somewhere between 45 to 127 kilos.

QUESTION

Experience The Nevis Catapult – online

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