[ad_1]
Thrill seekers wanting an aerial view of Christchurch’s Sumner Beach or Hanmer Springs won’t have long to wait with two new skydiving attractions launching this year.
Ashburton-based Skydiving Kiwis is in the final stages of prepping skydiving over Sumner Beach, which has been in the works for nearly two years.
Skydiving Kiwis director Lee Barraclough said it would be New Zealand’s first skydive landing on a beach.
Supplied
Skydiving Kiwis director Lee Barraclough des a tandem skydive jump with a customer.
Barraclough was hoping to open in June or July and expected a jump to cost around $ 300.
READ MORE:
* Christchurch helicopter firm takes off with new $ 25m headquarters
* Skydiver off to world games, recovery pending
* Chinese visitors feed skydiving boom and shortage of jump masters
* Fearless six-year-old jumps out of a plane at 6000 feet
Jumps would take place from between 3900 meters to 4570m (13,000 to 15,000 feet), allowing for 45 seconds to a minute in free-fall.
“Opening in Sumner has been a dream of mine since I was surfing out here in Sumner when I was a child, so the feeling and the excitement level is through the roof a little bit,” Barraclough said.
The company was also introducing skydiving in Hanmer Springs later this month to coincide with the reopening of the hot pools.
The small tourist town has been hit hard by Covid-19, with the Heritage Hotel closing permanently and several job losses at the hot pools.
Barraclough was confident there would be enough domestic appetite for adventure businesses to create a new sustainable business model post-Covid-19.
Supplied
Skydiving Kiwis director Lee Barraclough says his instructors are keen to start training sessions and test jumps.
I’ve hoped skydiving in Sumner would become a “treasured asset” for the community and other local businesses would benefit from the additional visitors.
There will be four flights a day to begin with and the skydivers will land in a 400-square-meter cordoned off part of Sumner Beach between Cave Rock and Shag Rock.
The helicopter flight to arrive at the jump point will take customers over Christchurch city, too.
Barraclough said his team of instructors were eager to start training sessions and test jumps with the helicopter crew.
Skydiving Kiwis was working in partnership with Garden City Helicopters (GCH) to provide the jumps. It is understood to be the first time in New Zealand skydivers could jump from a helicopter instead of a plane.
GCH marketing manager Caroline Blanchfield said although it seemed a strange time to introduce a new product, this was a time to innovate with a new experience “to put Christchurch on the domestic and later the international map”.
She thought the jumps would appeal to Kiwis “looking for a new thrill”.
