Welcome to the Queenstown

Canyon Swing logo

What is the Canyon Swing?

It is a giant rope swing across one of the famous Shotover River Canyons near Queenstown. A bit like Bungy, but different. Still the same adrenalin rush.

What happens on the ride?

You are placed into a full body harness and then attached onto the twin rope swinging system. It is then over to you to jump into the unknown! The beauty of ‘ The Swing ' is that you can jump off any way you like. They have well over 8 commercial jumps available and many more up their sleeve for ‘special occasions'!

You have the option of going forwards, backwards, face first with 'Gimp Boy Goes To Hollywood', upside down with 'The Elvis Cutaway', backwards on 'The Chair' or any other way you can imagine.

They have a special launch boom that puts you in some of these whacky positions, but it also allows you to be released if you can't bring yourself to jump. If you can think of it, it is has probably already been done, from wheelchairs to kayaks, bikes and skis.

Once you 'depart' the platform you will freefall down into the canyon until the ropes smoothly pendulum you into a giant arc. You will then complete a couple of massive swings before you come to rest. They then winch you back up to the platform with a huge smile on your face and a memory you will not forget in a hurry.

Leaving the Platform high above the Shotover River. How far do you freefall?

You have about 60m/200ft of pure freefall before the ropes change your direction into the swing where you have a more gradual descent to approximately 100 metres below the platform high above you.

If you can't jump, can they release you?

Yes – this jump is called 'The Cutaway'. They hang you over the canyon on their special launch boom. You are sitting upright and will remain in this position the entire way down. You can then either pull the release cord yourself or let their jumpmaster pull it for you.

How fast do you go?

It depends on your weight and the air friction, but you can reach speeds of up to 150kph.

How high are you above the river?

The platform is 109m/360ft above the Shotover River and at the bottom of the swing you are about 9 meters from the water.

Bookings for this and all other activities can be arranged by Lake Vista staff.