The world’s most thrill-seeking activities

Are you a thrill-seeker? Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone can help you to learn more about yourself and create lasting memories. Here, we take a look at some of the world’s most thrill-seeking activities that you can try on your next cruise:

There is no better place in the world to go bungee jumping than New Zealand. With popular bungee jumping spots all over the country, it can be difficult to pick where to go. The Auckland Bridge Bungy boasts an exhilarating 40m fall and enables participants to dip their heads into the water before bouncing back up.

We chatted to the team at AJ Hackett Bungy who runs Auckland Bridge Bungy, “The legend began when a woman from Pentecost Island in Vanuatu wanted to fool her abusive husband, so climbed the tallest banyan tree, tied her legs with vines and jumped from the tree. Not noticing the vines, the husband followed, and while she survived, he plummeted to his death. For centuries, the people of the island followed in the tradition - fearlessly jumping from huge towers with just vines around their ankles.

“Inspired by footage of these experimental jumps, AJ Hackett and fellow speed skier Henry van Asch teamed up in 1985 to explore the idea of commercial bungy. The pair, who met while skiing in Wanaka, set about developing and testing bungy cords with the help of Auckland University scientists. After extensive testing of cords, a series of extreme jumps were made, first in Tignes, France, from a ski area gondola 91m above the snow.

“To launch the new phenomenon commercially, and show their complete faith in the new system, AJ Hackett jumped from the Eiffel Tower in June 1987, making headlines around the world. On the 12th of November 1988, despite the fears of sceptics (who thought as a tourist attraction it would never catch on) the world’s first commercial bungy operation opened at the Kawarau Bridge.

“Initially, they were given only a 30-day license to operate by the Department of Conservation. Many assumed that bunjy jumping was a tourist fad with limited consumer appeal and commercial viability. During that first day, 28 people paid $75 each to leap off the 43-metre bridge with a bungy cord attached to their ankles. Today, some 82,000 people bunjy jump with AJ Hackett Bungy every year. And more than 150,000 challenge themselves at one of AJ Hackett Bungy’s 9 bungy, swing, catapult, climb and walk experiences across Queenstown and Auckland.”

We asked why everyone should try bungee jumping during their cruise to New Zealand. They said, “Overcoming your fears is empowering, liberating and exhilarating. You don’t need to sift through pages of research to know that people, in general, are governed by their fears. For some, it’s phobias, others have superstitions and some have set beliefs that are handed down through generations. Some people fear commitment, failure and even the unknown. Our brand purpose is to inspire people to awesomeness by doing the things they never thought they could. So, we help encourage people to know what it’s like to overcome their fear - to know what it’s like to really live.”

A cruise to South Africa will likely take you to Cape Town, where one of the world’s most thrill-seeking activities regularly occurs; swimming with sharks. Off the shore of Cape Town, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet to create warm, inviting waters that are very appealing to sharks.

We chatted to Will from Going Awesome Places who swam with sharks in Gansbaai, a town just south of Cape Town, “The biggest draw was that this was a very affordable and accessible way to go shark diving. This always felt like an out-of-reach activity because of the challenges of doing it. But in South Africa, and Gansbaai specifically, the proximity of the sharks to the shore and the number of companies that service the region made it incredibly easy.

“The second part, of course, was the prospect of seeing these sharks up-close and personal. As a scuba diver, you normally see small nursing sharks but the chance of seeing the formidable great white shark and live to tell the tale seemed absolutely exhilarating.

“I came out of the experience with mixed emotions. For one, our experience was a little different than we expected because the great whites’ predators were in the area and thus only smaller copper sharks were in the water. That said, it was still quite exciting to be underwater and see sharks continuously duck in and out towards our cage while thrashing at the food that was cast out as bait. The waters do get quite rough out there especially when you’re in the cage bobbing up and down in the water, so be prepared!”

We also chatted with Sharon from What The Saints Did Next who told us, “They say the best way to overcome a fear is to face it head-on. So, when the opportunity arose to go cage diving with sharks in Gansbaai, South Africa, the Great White Capital of the World, it was a no-brainer.

“The moment I zipped up my wet suit all semblance of bravado deserted me and I almost bottled it. But my adventurous streak won and soon I was in the cage watching an approaching dorsal fin. It was winter, so water visibility and temperature were low, making me shiver with cold and excitement. Suddenly, a great mouth of sharp jagged teeth broke through the surface taking a bite at the dummy seal floating mere metres away. The 4-metre-long great white breached for a few seconds and glided away showing no interest in us humans. To see ‘Jaws’ up close in his own environment was an exhilarating and humbling experience and I still can’t believe I did.”

Ever dreamed of boarding down the side of a live volcano? On a cruise to Nicaragua, you can do just that.

“We are thrill-seekers and are always looking for an adrenalin-filled adventure. Once we decided to travel to Central America, we knew that volcano boarding in Nicaragua was an absolute must,” Mackenzie from Kenzie Around The World told us. “I remember my heart beating out of my chest while I climbed onto the wooden board and looked down from the top of the steep volcano! I watched the others race down the slope first and disappear into a cloud of volcanic ash. As I held onto the rope before beginning the fast descent, I thought, ‘This is insane!’ It was not as scary as I expected but was one of my favourite adventures ever. I raced down the side of the volcano at a high speed but felt in control. I held on tight while ash flew at my covered face, my stomach dropped and adrenaline pumped through my body.

“As soon as we reached the bottom, covered in ash, we grabbed our boards and started to hike back up Cerro Negro, eager to volcano board again. If you’re a thrill-seeker, add volcano boarding to your bucket list.”

We also spoke to Lucie from Laid Back Trip. She said, “We visited Nicaragua as part of our trip around South and Central America. Whenever we were looking for tips on what to do in here, volcano boarding came up. As we always want to try a new adventure in each country we travel to, volcano boarding seemed like a pretty cool experience as we’ve never done it before. Boarding the beautiful volcano Cerro Negro seemed really appealing to us, so when we arrived in Leon, we decided to book this adventure straight away.”

We asked Lucie about her experience, “Honestly, the experience was much better than we expected. Views from Cerro Negro are amazing and the volcano boarding was so much fun. It was for sure one of the craziest things we’ve ever done. At first, all of us who made it to the top were a bit scared because the slope is steep, like really steep, and we realised that there is no way back. We jumped on the board and tried to sled the volcano as fast as possible. The adrenaline was rushing through our veins and the adventure ended way too early. If we could, we would have done it again and again.”

Finally, we spoke to Sandra from Blue Marble Vagabonds. She told us, “When we read about volcano boarding in Nicaragua, we immediately knew it was an unmissable experience. After all, we’d be speeding down an active volcano on a wooden board. And what a ride it was! After we reached the bottom of the volcano, we agreed that volcano boarding probably wasn’t the scariest thing we’ve ever done but it was certainly the most memorable!”