The adrenalin wasn’t ours, it belonged to the young girl who was saying “I can’t, I can’t do it”. We were standing on the ground looking up as she hung 50 metres above in the Skyswing at Skyline Rotorua. What she couldn’t do (and who could blame her?) was pull the cord that would release the Skyswing and send her flying over the side of Mount Ngongotaha. (Feb 2017 video shows man fainting twice!! on the Skyswing).

Going up on the Skyswing

Looking down over the side of Mount Ngongotaha

Pull the cord and the Skyswing is released over the side of the mountain

Someone pulled the cord, my guess it was Dad, and the family of three zoomed over our heads. I was relieved, both for the young girl and myself. Now that I’d heard and seen how scary the Skyswing could be, I’d decided I was never going up there.

Swinging over Mount Ngongotaha

Not everyone’s a scaredy cat like me though, these two guys were smiling as they prepared to swing over the mountain.

No fear

Cost? $35 adult, $25 child (stay in your seat and swing again for $20/$15). A DVD of your swing is $30. You also need to add the cost of getting to the top of Mount Ngongotaha on the Gondola* – $27 adult, child $13.50, family $68.

Gondolas at Skyline Rotorua

A new adrenalin attraction at Skyline Rotorua is the Zoom Zipline. Unlike the Luge and Skyswing, there weren’t many people lining up to zip down the mountain, but this guy obviously wanted to make his trip memorable by travelling upside down. Cost? $39 (second ride $25), + Gondola.

Upside down on the Zipline

As I’ve used zipline and Rotorua in the same sentence it’s only right to mention Canopy Tours and their exceptional reviews. I’m not sure if you can travel upside down though.

Much lighter on adrenalin, but definitely the most popular activity (aside from eating) at Skyline Rotorua is the Luge. The Luge is definitely more my speed although I had to leave it to Mike to take the journey down the mountain this time round. There are three tracks to choose from, start off on the scenic track if you’re a first timer and then progress to the intermediate or advanced tracks if you want more speed.

Luging

This sums up what most people think about the Luge …….

Skyline Luge – Once Is Never Enough

Ride the chairlift up the mountain after you’ve been on the Luge or Zipline

Cost? 1 x luge ride $11, 2 x $19, 3 x $24, 5 x $33, + Gondola. *A tip for locals or frequent visitors to Skyline Rotorua – purchase an Annual Gondola Card for $72 adult, $38 child, follow the link to see the discounts including unlimited gondola travel and discounted luge rides.

A happy local on the Luge