Fun, colour and excitement aim of new business

Waimarino Bulletin, Issue 3, 5 August 1988, Page 14

Fun, colour and excitement aim of new business

Passing on new ways to have fun with maximum excitement is the objective of a new Ohakune Junction business, "The New Sensations Supply Company".

Bungy Jumper AJ. Hackett and mono skier Chris Allum have set up shop in the old Ohakune Junction Post Office, where they specialise in alternative sports such a s monoskiing, bungy jumping, speed skiing, parapenting, snowboarding, ski touring and mountain biking.

"Licenced to thrill" is a slogan the company is using to get the message across. "The attraction with these alternative sports is they are much more fun," says Chris. "Fun, colour and excitement is the emphasis with the new sensations." Chris will look after the monoskiing side of

the business with A J concentrating (hard) on the bungy jumping. "A big part of the business is the jumping," says Chris. He said AJ is currently at Phoenix, Arizona working on a jump for a French television ad for Minolta. Following this he will be back in Ohakune end of August to run a stress management bungy jumping course. "The course will be designed to get people

to relax," said Chris. He said it was for highpressure executives. "Bungy jumping gets people to a mental state where they don't think about anything else but the jump." AJ is famous as a veteran of jumps such as from the Auckland Habour Bridge, The Auckland Stock Exchange Tower and from the Eifel Tower. A bungy jump involves much calculating to work out the length of the oversized rubber band, to make sure the jumper i s pulled up short of hitting the ground. "Accuracy to within 10 centimetres can be attained," say the team in a promotion brochure. "An object can be picked up off a table and launched back into the air with the jumper." The label "bungy" seems to have been taken from old surfing days when boards were held on to roof racks with rubber shock stretch cords, often called a bungy. B u t there is uncertainty. "I don't know where the term originated," AJ has said. There is still some confusion over the spelling of the brand new sport's name. It has appeared in print as "bungee", "bungi", "bungy" and "bunji". Whatever, there are definitely two things a stressed executive is not likely to think about on a bungy course: how to spell and what's happenning at work! Why two when one will do? Meanwhile Chris will be working on promot-

ing monoskiing, which is his forte. Monoskiing is 10 times easier than on two skis according to Turn page 15

THE NEW SENSATIONAUSTS!

From page 14 Chris. He says because of the new ski construction technology monoskis hold on hard pack ice which means you can now ski ice to deep powder on a monoski. To really know what it's like it seems you

have to try the sport. Techique for monoskiing sees the upper body remaining fairly stable, with the work comming from the hips and below. Body weight is centred over the ski. More turning power can be mustered monoskiing

because all your weight is on one edge. Ohakune's New Sensations have monoskis for hire as well as for sale, so you can try before you buy. Brands available from the company are Duret, Bebop, Fischer, La Croix, Head and Dy-

nastar. New Sensations also stock snowboards from Fischer, Duret and Look. Also for hire are Kastle touring skis and skins. Speed skis are also part of the company's stock.