Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge — Attraction in South Island

It turns out you don't have to do a bungy jump to be able to go onto the historic Kawarau Suspension Bridge! The bridge (which featured in the Lord of the Rings films) is on the Queenstown Trail Arrow River Bridges cycle route, and you can either walk or cycle across it at any time.

The historic bridge is famous as being the birthplace of bungy tourism (A.J. Hackett Bungy - who still operate here). Every day people leap from the equivalent of a 10-storey building held-safe by just a giant elastic band around their ankles.

But the bridge has history that goes back way further. It was here in 1880 that a daring new bridge design was introduced to the world stage. The challenge for engineer Harry Higginson was a sheer rocky gorge that funnelled destructive side winds. Higginson was aware that in other countries several near-new bridges had been destroyed by high winds. To meet this challenge, he combined a range of innovative strengthening solutions, such as inward sloping cables, to come up with a suspension bridge that was 42 m high with a 120m long span. The design proved economical and enduring. The work won a world’s top engineering award, a Telford Premium, in 1882.

In 1963 a new bridge opened and the 1880 bridge was retained for its historic value.

In 1988 A. J. Hackett began the world’s first commercial bungy jumping venture here and this has grown into an...

An amazing place to visit with amazing views of the Kawarau Gorge! The Gorge is famous as a filming site for the Lord of the Rings movies...specifically the scene where the group is floating downriver past the Pillars of the Kings. It is also famous as the original place where bungee jumping started, and many tourists come here to do that every day. If you are brave enough, it is supposed to be the best place in the world to bungee jump! We avoided that, and just had a leisurely walk across the bridge to take in the scenery and get some great photos! Another one of those “must visit” places of beauty in New Zealand, especially if you are a Lord of...

The bridge itself is a nice short walk across the Kawarau river. You can get breathtakingly beautiful views of the river and catch a show of those who are brave enough to do a bungee jump from the bridge 😬 Just be super careful on the other-side of the bridge close to the edge. There is NO barrier at all. Please if you have children make sure you hold them all the time. Monday freaking edge even for an adult. But you can safely enjoy the views of the river from the viewing deck without even having to...