| Radio National's The Sports Factor |
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with Amanda Smith
4/02/00 Adrenalin Sport Summary: Queenstown, in New Zealand, is the self-proclaimed "adventure sports capital of the world". And people sure do flock there from all over the globe, for adrenalin-pumping activities like bungy jumping, white water rafting, and jet boating. But what attracts ordinary people to the thrills and spills of adventure sports? Details or Transcript: THEME Amanda Smith: Today, thrill sports. Or, why ordinary people choose to freak themselves out doing things like white-water rafting, jet-boating and bungy-jumping. Jump-masters: Five, four, three, two, one! SCREAMS Graham: It's like a public execution. Tony: Yes, I thought I was going to die at one point, about half-way down, just wondering, you know. Shannon: A little bit nervous actually, yes, a bit scared, but I'm trying not to think about it. Tudor: Shitting myself. I was very nervous before, but eyes and sphincter shut, and came through OK. SCREAMS Amanda Smith: Over the past ten years or so, adventure-sports holidays have developed as an increasingly popular form of tourism. And the place where this has been most exploited is Queenstown, in the South Island of New Zealand. So much so that Queenstown now calls itself the 'Adventure Sports Capital of the World'. The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, visited Queenstown last weekend, although I don't think he went bungy-jumping. And for The Sports Factor, I was also there recently, to try to get a handle on why this place has become such a hub for doing crazy, adrenalin-pumping things. Adventure-sports tourism is actually Queenstown's second boom discovery. According to Andrew Patterson, who's the Marketing Manager for Tourism Holdings Limited in Queenstown, the first boom was gold. Andrew Patterson: That's right. Gold was discovered here back in the 1860s, and they flocked here in their thousands, and the town just sort of sprang up. In fact there's stories about the town growing up so quickly that they couldn't even create the street names fast enough to keep up with them. So yes, but I guess the line goes that the gold is no longer in the rivers, the gold is now tourism. Amanda Smith: Yes, well how much does Queenstown now rely on this adventure-sports tourism, both for its economy and also its identity? Andrew Patterson: It's very important. Around 95% of Queenstown's economy is tourism based, so we really are solely reliant on tourism. A lot of people don't really come here - people don't necessarily really come to Queenstown to bungy-jump and do all those sort of activities. They probably get caught up in the hype once they're here. Some Americans often describe Queenstown as sort of a natural Disneyland, which I guess it is: you've got all of these sort of activity options within a stone's throw. And people, as I say, get caught up in the hype of the whole thing. They just suddenly feel 'Well I'm here now, I'd better try this out, better see what it's like.' Amanda Smith: How is what Queenstown offers in terms of all that stuff more than the kind of thrill you'd get out of a funfair ride? Andrew Patterson: Yes. I suppose it's the natural way it's all set up. Activities like jet-boating, I guess is sort of man-made to the extent that you have to ride in a man-made boat, but you ride along a scenic river, you have a stunning view everywhere you look, and combine that with a sense of adventure and you've got a pretty dynamic combination. Amanda Smith: All right. Now Andrew, tell me about some of the stuff you run. You do something called the Awesome Foursome, and that's not rowing as we know it in Australia. Andrew Patterson: No, it's definitely not rowing! They call that the Adrenalin Cocktail, because it really is. What it is, it takes four of Queenstown's most popular adventure activities, which is bungy-jumping, rafting, jet-boating and a scenic helicopter trip, and it combines the whole experience into about a five-and-a-half-hour period, which is probably about the biggest adrenalin rush that you could get. A lot of people will do those activities say progressively over three or four days if they're keen. But those who are really keen, get the chance to do it all in about a five-and-a-half-hour period. They basically finish one activity and they're whisked straight off to the next one. And it's really fun watching them get out of that van at the end of the day, and they're just shaking their head and they are so excited it's all over their face, and you can see it in their body language. And they usually go out for a huge celebration that night. And often, talking to people months afterwards, they re-live the high for quite a long period of time after the actual event. Amanda Smith: Alrighty. Well let's take a closer look at some of those things that Andrew Patterson was talking about. First up, white-water rafting. Peter Gordon: You're all going to get one of these; this is a wetsuit, and 99% of them are like this. This is inside out, you have to turn it in the other way. If you put it on like this the soft fluffy stuff which should be on the inside, this will stick like velcro to the bus seats and we'll have a real hard job getting you off to go rafting. You'll be in this for two-and-a-half-hours or so, so I suggest that you go to the toilet, the bathroom, whatever you want to call it, before you put it on. Any questions? No? Perfect. Tony Green: I'm Tony Green and I'm from Hampshire, in England. Amanda Smith: And you're? Valerie Green: Valerie Green, likewise. Amanda Smith: And is this your first time doing something like this? Tony Green: No, we're addicts, white-water rafting. Valerie Green: This will be our second time. Tony Green: Fifth time! At least. Amanda Smith: So you're not feeling trepidatious at all about going on the white-water rafting at the moment? Tony Green: No, not at all, not at all. Valerie Green: Well, slightly, but we did it first in the Tully River, and ever since it's been rather tamer. Tully River, Australia. Amanda Smith: Are you planning on doing any other things: the jet-boat or the bungy-jumping, anything like that? Valerie Green: No, no bungy-jumping. Tony Green: We've just done the jet-boat, and tomorrow we're doing the Dart River trip. BUS STARTS UP Peter: My name's Peter, or Wes, I'm one of the guides on the trip. Sitting right down the back is -- Amanda Smith: Peter, otherwise known as Wes, Gordon, has been taking novices rafting on white-water for 13 years. That adds up to thousands of trips and a lot of experience, which you'd think could make you a bit blase about the risks. Peter Gordon: I'm certainly not blase. I've been around a number of accidents on rivers, where people haven't made it back from their rafting trip, but it's never happened to me or the company that I've been working for at the time. And I certainly don't get blase about the trips. While it might be trip number 3,000 or 4,000 for me, I try to remember it's maybe the only trip people will ever do, so I try to make it as special as I can. Amanda Smith: What is the hairiest thing that's happened on a rafting trip for you? Peter Gordon: I don't know. There have been times I've had a really big fright, and at the time it's not so much of a fright, you just do what you have to do, you know, whether it's getting back on your upside-down raft and tipping it over and sorting everyone out. But it's usually that night when you can't sleep and you realise well maybe if this had happened, this would have happened. But I've been really lucky, I've never really hurt anyone out of my raft, though I've broken both my thumbs and my ankle and wrist and my arm, all sorts of stuff, but as I say I've never hurt my people. It's the sort of thing you have a moral responsibility to bring everyone back that you started with at the beginning of the day. Amanda Smith: Do people fall into particular categories as far as how they approach rafting goes? Peter Gordon: It's funny, I try and explain very, very clearly to people when we meet them that we're going to get changed into our wetsuit, it's inside-out, you'll leave your clothes in the changing room, we'll lock the changing room, we'll put things, valuables, in the locker. And at least half the people just don't hear that, they're so stressed out about it, especially if they've never been rafting. Whether they come from Australia or the States or from one of the Asian countries, everyone gets equally stressed. Amanda Smith: Well I noticed on the bus trip that you had a very strong and humorous patter that you were delivering on the way out. Is that designed to relax people? Peter Gordon: Oh definitely. Most people would think I'm doing it for my own amusement, but after saying it 3,000 times it's not as amusing to me. But I'm hoping that people will like me, you know, and even if they're only going to like me for half a day, that's all I want because if people like you, they'll trust you and they'll do what you ask them to do in the boat. So yes, it's definitely hoping that they realise you're comfortable and relaxed with what you're doing, and not stressed out about it. Amanda Smith: Also on the bus trip out here to the river you were talking about a disclaimer that everyone has to sign. That's a definite part of what people have to do to take this trip? Peter Gordon: Oh definitely. No-one comes rafting without signing it. And occasionally we get people who say 'I'm a lawyer, I can't sign this', and I say, 'I'm a raft guide, I can't take you'. But the legal side of it is that you have to have informed consent. You have to inform people that it has its risks, and they have to consent to do it. And in the old days we just used to assume that people understood that, but we explain it to them, and then we explain that we'll do our very, very best to look after you, but there are some risks involved. Amanda Smith: And did you have to bring the disclaimer in because people were suing the company? Peter Gordon: Not this company, but there is a court case happening now that was an accident here with another company that's now actually been bought out by someone else. But it was an accident where the deceased's husband is suing, and he's American. The courts actually don't accept compensatory damage here in this country, but just to make sure people do know that. It's not so much to stop them suing, it's just that it's written in black and white, 'there are some risks involved, and now that you've read it and signed it, you can't say to us that we didn't tell you', and I guess that's more what it's all about. WATER RUSHING Raft guide: Sometimes these rafts, they go upside down, everybody's in the water, including us. So what we want you to do then is, hold the ropes, you'll still be able to do that. If everything's gone dark it means you're under the raft, but that's not a problem. What we'll do then is lift the raft up the right way, get everyone back into it and have a big argument about whose fault it was! WATER/YELLS/LAUGHTER Amanda Smith: Now why is it that these kinds of adventure sports, like white-water rafting, have gained such appeal for ordinary people to have a go at in the 1990s? And what is it about fear and risk that people find attractive? Michael Martin is a sports psychologist at the New South Wales Institute of Sport, and he's got some theories. Michael Martin: The latest research is really starting to point out that this whole risk-taking behaviour is probably something that's wired into the brain. It's actually intimately linked with our need for pleasure and for arousal and you know, the studies are really sort of starting to point to the fact that we've got this basic need to act in that way. They're even reflecting back to our evolutionary past and they're saying well, in days gone by we used to have to take risks to fight for our food, and to forage, and it's sort of an essential survival behaviour. And so they're saying now that it's really something that is very natural. And we're starting to see more and more of it come out. Amanda Smith: What makes fear exciting? Michael Martin: I guess there's really nothing that's more empowering than going out and taking a risk and then being successful. And as human beings, we all desire to be successful, and that whole risk-taking thing, that overcoming of your fear, that suppressing the emotion and then being successful at the end of the day is something that's innately satisfying as human beings. But basically what I feel is that it's a response to how our society now is starting to wrap people up in cotton wool in terms of the way they behave, we're a society that's become very much safety conscious. We've got guard-rails and seat-belts and personal injury litigation issues that arise all the time; and our whole lifestyle is really becoming too safe and too predictable and too boring. And it's an interesting paradox, I mean the safer we try to make our lives, the more people want to start to take risks. So it's really very much a response to the way we're sort of trying to bring society under control. Amanda Smith: Sports psychologist, Dr Michael Martin. JET-BOAT Driver: We're going into a big spin, so grab on to that bar and hang on nice and tight! A little bit of a flood on today, so it's best to hang on at all times, it's quite bouncy down there. No-one here's got any back problems, or anything like that? No? You're all as nervous as what I am? Yes. Good stuff. JET-BOAT Amanda Smith: That's a jet-boat on the Shotover River in Queenstown. The Shotover jets roar along this shallow river, deliberately getting as close to rocks as possible. The boats run on LP gas, and they work with an internal propeller that sucks water in, and then forces it out at high speed. And like a number of thrill-type sports, this kind of jet-boating was developed and first operated in Queenstown. Clark Scott, who's the Operations Manager for the Shotover Jet, thinks Queenstown works as a kind of magnet for lunatics and lateral-thinkers. Clark Scott: Well look out onto the lakes, see jet-boats whizzing around; look up at the mountains, see parapenters jumping off everywhere, hang-gliders jumping off. Go for a drive just out of town and have a look at the local bridges. You've got bungy-jumpers jumping off, white-water rafts heading down the rapids. Yes, it's almost a mad asylum here Amanda, there are so many interesting characters it's sort of like a magnet for lunatics. I mean you just have to look at bungy-jumping for example, Henry van Asch and A.J. when they got that started. I mean it takes a little bit of lateral thinking to come up with such an outrageous idea. Take Shotover Jet for example, driving boats at 70 kilometres an hour at rocks, I mean it's not normal! I think years ago, things were a little looser so to speak. With a lot of the international clientele that we're getting through now through Queenstown, or through the world, the travelling public, they're a little bit more conscientious about safety and things, so we're very, very safety conscious, for want of a better way to describe it, yes. Pushing the limit, but at a safe level. People want to feel they're in danger, but they do want to get home with all their arms and legs still attached. Amanda Smith: So tell me when and how Shotover Jet was invented and developed. Clark Scott: Well the jet-boat was a New Zealand invention; a gentleman by the name of Bill Hamilton, he was a bit of an adventurer, he was actually a farmer. He invented the jet-boat back in 1952 to '53, just for his own enjoyment. He liked going out in the back country, wanted to get up and down the shallow rivers we have here in the South Island. From probably the mid-'60s, commercial jet-boating started in the area. Shotover Jet actually started at the end of 1969, and started operating just a tour through the two canyons we have here, and the boats started going up and down the middle. I believe the gentleman that owned the company at that time got a little bored with going up and down the middle and started to sort of adventure close to the rocks, found he got a very, very good response from the people travelling on the boat, and we have the trip that we have today from that. We try to get as close to every rock we possibly can. Amanda Smith: So describe to me the jet-boat trip then, what goes on, what happens? Clark Scott: They get a brief safety talk, which basically says 'Hold on, keep sitting down, and keep your arms and legs and bits and pieces inside the boat'. We take off, and we do a bit of a spin past the jetty for a wee photograph, and then we're into it. We go roaring down at about 70 kilometres an hour into the first canyon, skimming past rocks within absolute millimetres. At that speed it's very, very exhilarating. We break into the first big open area, known as Big Beach, named back in the goldmining days. We do the first of a series of 360-degree spins. We normally start of with a bit of a gentle one, just to warm everyone up, and that's the start of it, it just keeps getting faster and faster and busier from then on in. JET-BOAT/YELLS Amanda Smith: Of course the thing about this kind of high-speed jet-boating, or white-water rafting, is that there's very little actual skill involved for participants, and as Clark Scott said, the attraction is in the perceived, rather than real, danger. Chris Darwin, who's the editor of a book called 'The Ultimate Australian Adventure Guide', says bungy-jumping and sky-diving also fall into that category. Chris Darwin: Well suppose those two are the classic thrill-type activities, generally ones that people do maybe once in their life. I mean they really want to walk into the office on Monday morning and say, 'I jumped out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane at 10,000 feet; I fell towards the ground at 200 kilometres an hour, and that was the most intense 30-seconds of my life.' But they're never going to do it again, and those two are very much, bungy-jumping and sky-diving, are the thrill ones. These sports used to be carried out by a small select group of 'grime and punishment' merchants, who used to grovel around in the wilderness and do that. But now they've become quite mainstream, some of them, and a lot of them have experienced incredible numbers of increases of participants. Just wear the T-shirt, feel good about yourself. Amanda Smith: Yes. So is that why people do it? It is a kind of thing to be able to boast about or feel proud about after the event? Chris Darwin: I think that's part of the fun of it. I think also, people come away slightly different. I think once you've jumped off a bridge on nothing more than an elastic band, I think the day-to-day terrors of everyday life seem not quite so frightening, because you've really survived an extreme experience. That really the phone bill is really a fairly unworrying thing. While before, it might have concerned you. Amanda Smith: The 20th anniversary of the world's first urban bungy-jump is coming up shortly, on April Fool's Day, appropriately enough. One of the people who was involved in that first jump is Geoff Tabin. He's an American mountain-climber who was studying philosophy at Oxford University in the '70s. And the bungy story goes back to when Geoff and his climbing partner were in Oxford planning an expedition to New Guinea, and they met up with the 'Oxford Dangerous Sports Club'. Geoff Tabin: Through our climbing we met up with a group of eccentrics who called themselves the Oxford Dangerous Sports Club, and the head of the club, David Kirk, we were in a little pub, said, 'Oh Geoff, you're going to New Guinea. You must try vine-jumping.' And he was referring to a puberty ritual where natives in New Guinea climb high trees and then tie springy vines to their ankles and dive from the towers in the trees. And he was very excited that we should try this and before the night was over, another person in the club named Simon Keeling came up with the idea of urbanising vine-jumping, and a third person Weston, said that he had a friend whose brother was in the RAF and they had these elastic bungy cords that he'd seen all coiled up which they use on aircraft carriers to catch plans as they come in. And a night expedition ensued, and we got the bungy cords and the first urban bungy-jump was on April Fool's Day in 1979. And five from the Oxford Dangerous Sports Club jumped off of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England; and unfortunately we didn't have a very good system to get back up, and so the British tabloid press had some photos that said 'Oxford yo-yos' and it was all tuxedo-clad, with champagne. And then the next thing that happened was an American television company got in touch and said, 'We need you to do this on our TV show', and so we did the second jump which was off of the world's highest suspension bridge. Amanda Smith: Where's that? Geoff Tabin: It's up over the Arkansas River outside of Canyon City, Colorado, called the Royal Gorge Bridge. Amanda Smith: And how high is it? Geoff Tabin: 1200 feet. Actually 1163. It's not that high. And we jumped off that. It really is a very non-skill activity: you just strap in and go, and as a climber, I was left to do the knots. But the American television companies made a rather big deal out of me because I was the American in the group. And so many people said 'Why did you do that? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard of.' Then I explained about the Dangerous Sports Club, and people thought it was pretty funny, and I ended up writing it up. And then a few years after that, this guy Hackett from New Zealand got in touch, wanted to know what was used and how everything was done, and then about 1984 he opened the first commercial bungy-jumping operation. And it sort of spread. Amanda Smith: It sure did. And A.J. Hackett and his partner Henry van Asch opened the world's first commercial bungy site in Queenstown, the beginning of a very successful business. A.J. Hackett now runs bungy sites around the world, while Henry van Asch heads up the New Zealand operations, including the original site at the Kawarau Suspension Bridge, Queenstown. Henry van Asch: Over ten years ago, we came here to this bridge, we're just sitting right next to it now. It was in quite a dilapidated state of repair, it hadn't been used for many years. A few people, probably 50 or 80 people a year, came here and looked at it or took photos, and the car park was used by a few hoons or whatever. So we came and we approached the Conservation Department and said we had an idea of a way that we could get this bridge to have another life, because they were thinking about pulling it down, or stopping people from walking on it. So we got a 30-day permit to start jumping from it, and soon we extended that to six months and then eventually we came up with a long-term lease for that. Amanda Smith: OK Henry, so tell me what you reckon the attraction of bungy-jumping is. Henry van Asch: There's the physical aspect of it, which is obviously pretty exciting. And people often think that it's thrill-seekers that veer towards it, but in fact with us, it's only really about 10% or 15% of our clients are actually what we'd call thrill-seekers, people out there seeking an adrenalin buzz. What most of our clients are, are people who are seeking a personal challenge, and people from everyday walks of life who come here to do this quite unusual activity. And it's great physically, with a bit of bouncing round, but really what it boils down to is that people have to face their instincts, and have to deal with a whole psychological and intellectual process to get off the edge of a bridge. Everything's telling you that if you jump off here, it's going to be the last thing you do, that gravity is going to take over. And that's a really basic instinct that's hugely ingrained in us. So you have to go through a whole lot of processes to overwhelm that instinct, and that forces people to go through in their minds whether they really do want to do it or not. If their friends want them to do it, that's not enough. They're the people out there on the edge, and really they're alone, so it's a very individual and very personal activity. And when people do do it, once they've jumped off, they have a great ride, and it's a great sensation of bouncing round and all those physical things that occur. And once they get off at the bottom and they step back onto land, then they really feel a huge boost and they feel a great sense of elation and achievement, and sometimes relief. And we often get comments from people saying 'Now this made a huge difference to me, I was able to look at things in my life that before I'd been scared to do, or I'd had a lot of fear about', so it's a huge boost to people's self-esteem and it's really satisfying to be involved with seeing that happening. Jump-master: How're you going, mate? Come on down. Sit down, sit there. Are you going to be a noisy jumper? Roland: No, not really. Jump-master: Are you going to scream? Roland: Oh no. Jump-master: Oh, go on Roland. Would you like to touch water Roland? Roland: Yes. Jump-master: Excellent. Amanda Smith: Is this the first time you've done this? Roland: Yes. Amanda Smith: What prompted you to do it? Roland: I just want to get the experience. Amazing. Jump-master: OK Roland, don't wiggle your feet, because I'm trying to tighten them up and you may loosen something. What do you do for work, Roland? Roland: I'm an orthopaedic surgeon. Jump-master: Hospital surgeon? Roland: Orthopaedic. Jump-master: Well hopefully you won't be needing your skills after this, eh? Roland: I hope not. Jump-master: Now are your pockets all empty? Roland: Yes. Man: OK Roland, what you need to do is focus on the bridge upstream.Try not to look down, makes it a little bit harder, OK? The secret to bungy-jumping, do it fast. The longer you stand on the edge, the less chance you have of doing it, because you'll talk yourself out of it. OK? Roland: Yes. It sounds pretty easy eh? Oh, I'm really nervous. Amanda Smith: Good luck. Roland: Oh thanks. Jump-master: Here you go Roland, you don't want to spend too much time thinking about it. We do all the thinking here, OK ? Roland: OK, I'm ready. So shall I sit down there, and - ? Jump-master: No! You want to stand right here, like this. Roland: Oh gosh. OK, can I do it? Jump-master: Yes, out towards the bridge, just a little push out, OK? OK Roland? End up at the bottom! See ya! LONG YELL Amanda Smith: The people who assist you to throw yourself off the bridge are the jump-masters. An interesting line of work really, and one where you have to be a bit of a psychologist. Mark Aston, who's also known as Spud, has been a jump-master for six-and-a-half years. I wanted to know from him just how many people baulk at the last minute. They pay their money, get on the bridge, and then as they stare down into the abyss, decide they can't do it. Mark Aston: Yes, a lot of people talk about it, but that's where we come in. Probably half the people that jump will say on the way to the edge, 'I can't do this'. You've just got to really get inside their head and talk them through it. And they can do it, because it's only a physical thing, you've got to leave the mental part behind. But we do end up with about 1 & 1/2% not jumping. Amanda Smith: So with that percent who don't end up jumping - how do you know how far you can push someone to go before you have to accept that someone is not going to jump? Mark Aston: A lot of it's a matter of time. When someone's been on the edge for too long, they're too wound up. And they can come back and have a walk on the bridge and relax, have a coffee, and try again. But when you get to a certain stage, I mean four or five minutes on the edge, it's really not worth going on because your legs are shaking, the whole deck's shaking and they've freaked themselves out quite a lot. Amanda Smith: Well Spud, you've been doing this for a number of years as a jump-master here, do you have to constantly remind yourself that this is a scary thing for people to do? Mark Aston: Yes. You can start to feel like 'What are you making a big fuss about, this is simple, let's do it.' But you've got to remember that it's the first time for everyone. Amanda Smith: Have you ever had anyone who was ready to jump, but who you thought was physically or perhaps even psychologically ill-equipped to jump? Mark Aston: Well physically, I mean anybody can jump, so no, not really. We've had all sorts of people with disabilities, paraplegic, quadriplegic, and they all just jump in a harness. They can sit on the edge, roll off in their own time. But mentally yes, I guess the 1 & 1/2% that don't jump aren't mentally prepared to jump. Amanda Smith: But they're self-selecting; I'm wondering if you've ever had anyone who you thought shouldn't jump. Mark Aston: Yes, perhaps when you've got a youngster who's being pressured by a parent and they don't feel they can say No. And the parents, they're saying 'You can do it, you can do it!' and the kid's crying every time he gets near to the edge. Then you've just got to take the parent aside and say, you know, 'Come back in a couple of years'. And the only other time I can think of that would fit into that would be the odd time we've had some Norwegian fishermen up here who have been a little bit drunk. We've refused them a couple of times, because it's just not too good to get them too close to the edge, don't know what they're going to do. Jump-master: OK, you're focusing all your attention on the bridge? Rita: Yes. Jump-master: Count-down, just a nice good dive, straight out. OK? Deep breath, give us a big effort, Rita, diving out. Five, four, three, two, one! LONG YELLS Amanda Smith: Rita, tell me how it was, you're just on the long walk back after the fast jump down. Rita: I'm a little bit shaky, but it was incredible. It's something that I'll never do again. I'm glad I did it on the first bungy in the world, so nobody's going to have the - I don't have to compete again. I'm very shaky from it. God, I'm so excited. Now I need a stiff brandy. Amanda Smith: Cheers! Holidays on the edge of fear. And that's The Sports Factor in Queenstown, New Zealand: the adventure-sports, or white-knuckle capital of the world. I'm Amanda Smith and I hope you'll join me again next Friday for The Sports Factor. Presenter: Amanda Smith Producer: Michael Shirrefs © 2001 ABC | Privacy Policy |