Our Timeline

Following is a timeline of the development of the AJ Hackett International Company and brand since commercial inception in 1987:

1987:  AJ launched Bungy to the world by jumping illegally of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

1988: AJ jumps from the Auckland Stock Exchange Tower. The world’s first bungy jump from a building.

1988: Opening of the world’s first, year round commercial public bungy sites in Queenstown, New Zealand.

1988: Opening of the AJ Hackett bungy site in Ohakune, New Zealand.

1989: First draft of the "Bungy code of practice" presented.

1990: Opening of AJ Hackett Bungy sites in Normandie, France and Cairns, Australia.

1990: AJ jumps for the first time from a helicopter, stretching the bungy 380 meters.

1990: NZS 5848:1990 (code of practice for bungy jumping) published for the first time.

1991: AJ Hackett Bungy Queenstown receives the New Zealand Tourism Award for Excellence. (Awarded annually to the outstanding winner of all tourism activity in NZ)

1992: Opening of Kuranda Bungy, Cairns Australia.

1992: AJ Hackett receives "The Sir Jack Newman Award" for the individual who had contributed most to tourism in New Zealand for the Year.

1993: Opening of the United Kingdom mobile crane operation.

1994: Opening of Las Vegas and Kissimmee Bungy sites in the USA.

1995: Opening of the AJ Hackett Bungy site at Kuta Beach, Bali

1997: AJ Hackett Bungy forms an association with Sports Unlimited in Germany to assist in their bungy event marketing.

1997: Opening of the "Ledge" Bungy site in Queenstown.

1998: Sports Unlimited in association with AJ Hackett Action Culture set up Europe’s first permanent heli-bungy operation.

1998: AJ Hackett develops a new cable system to stabilize the jump, enabling accurate jumps to be executed from almost any high structure. This process allows him to break the world record for a building jump – 190meters from Auckland’s Sky Tower.

1999: The AJ Hackett Bungy company celebrated its millionth jump client after more than ten years of existence and a dozen sites across the world!!

1999: Opening of the "Scable" (a 400 meter long cable ride) at the Normandie site in France.

1999: Opening of the AJ Hackett Bungy site on the Condesa Beach, Acapulco, Mexico.

1999: Opening of the Nevis Highwire Bungy site in Queenstown, the world’s only purpose built bungy gondola.

2000: Opening of the "Minjin" (the worlds biggest jungle swing) at the Cairns site in Australia.

2000: 505 people jump at the AJ Hackett Bungy site in Cairns to break the world record for most bungy jumps done in less than 24 hours (12 hours to be exact) and earn an official listing in the Guinness Book of Records™

2000: AJ and friends jump from the Royal Gorge Bridge (world’s highest suspension bridge at 320 meters)

2001: AJ Hackett International launches its new global web site and client video

2001: AJ Hackett forms an association with Pulse GP to assist in event marketing of the team, in its efforts to compete in the 2001 world championship 500cc moto grand prix.

2001: Centennial Honours Award 1981 - 1991 - Tourism New Zealand – jointly awarded to AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch for the most significant contribution to New Zealand tourism over the entire decade

2002: Opening of Adventure Park in Normandie, France

2002: Opening of Skywalk and Mast Climb at Macau Tower, Macau

2003: Auckland Harbour Bridge bungy opened

2003: Re-opening of AJ Hackett Bungy in Kuta, Bali

2003: Global Distribution agreements signed with ‘Skyjump’ and ‘Parabungy’

2003: Opening of Skywalk X and at Macau Tower, Macau

2004: Opening of Parabungy, Cairns

2004: Opening of the worlds highest commercial bungy jump – 305 meters from the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado at the Go Fast Games – Only open for 2 weeks of the year

2005: AJ Hackett Cairns and Normandie celebrate 15 years of operating

2005: AJ sets a new Guinness World Record for the highest Tandem Bungy Jump form a helicopter over Bondi Beach Sydney – 300 meters with Australian TV personality Grant Denyer

2006: Opening of AJ Hackett Kuala Lumpur – G-Force – Anti Gravity Machine at the Menara Kuala Lumpur

2006: AJ releases his first Autobiography called JUMP START. This book is released all through NZ and Australia and a PR tour is run in conjunction with it, resulting on the biggest ever media campaign done by the company since it’s conception.

2006: AJ opens the world’s highest full time bungy operation in Macau – China 233 meters high. This new site is the most technologically advanced bungy site in the world. The technology designed for this jump will now allow people to Bungy Jump up to 1km in the future.

2007: AJ in talks with people regarding new sites in Dubai, Beijing and Korea

2009: Cairns Amphitheater built

2010: We are due to open a site in Sochi Russia

STAND BY FOR MORE INFORMATION VERY SOON!