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 Ever
since I first heard of Zorbing a few years ago, I’ve wanted to try
it. For those of you who don’t know, Zorbing basically involves
getting into a big plastic ball and rolling down a slope, first
invented out in New Zealand (the same country which gave us that
other crazy activity, bungee jumping). It’s wacky, it’s wild and
it’s completely my kind of thing to do on a holiday! So when I
finally made it out to New Zealand with a bunch of friends, of
course we headed out to try both bungee-jumping and Zorbing.
We headed by car to the Agrodome Park, which was located about 10
minutes outside Rotorua and offered both much-anticipated
activities, as well as quite a few other ‘extreme’ type activities.
Surrounded by lush green fields, it was a pretty idyllic setting,
except for the fellows bungee-jumping off a tall tower in the middle
of it all and a few peculiar white ball things at the top of a
nearby hill!
At this point, disaster struck and my story takes a horrifying turn.
After an altogether overindulgent breakfast, we chose to try out the
bungee-jumping first, which in itself was fantastic, no complaints.
Unfortunately, my breakfast didn’t quite agree with all the activity
and by the time we got around to the Zorbing, I was splendidly sick
and for the sake of my stomach, had to sit it out. All I could do
was watch my friends have all the fun, boo hoo!
My first impression of the Zorb balls were – wow, they’re big. It’s
probably an awful cliché by now, but they looked decidedly like
giant white hamster balls, with a small opening so the ‘zorbonauts’
could crawl in and airholes punched through the PVC material.
Everyone decided to try the normal dry Zorb run first, which was
about NZD 45 for the first ride and shortly afterwards, everyone was
well and truly strapped into their harnesses in their Zorbs. Then it
was a push, a shove and way they go! Look, look, it’s the human
hamsters!
I had more than a twinge of envy as I watched my friends whooping
and shrieking in the Zorbs! The balls went surprisingly fast down
the hill, up to 50km per hour according to the website. Having one
of the balls headed towards me reminded me of the Raiders of the
Lost Ark movie, with the huge stone ball speeding towards Indiana
Jones, except this time I was the intended victim and this ball had
a screaming girl strapped inside it!
Having to sit on the sidelines while everyone was enjoying
themselves was depressing and I was hoping one roll down the hill
would be enough for everyone, but nope, no such luck - after the
first adrenaline-filled tumble down the slopes, everyone rushed back
up and bought a second ride. My feeble attempts to garner some pity
for the poor fellow left out of all the fun had no effect whatsoever
and in short order, everyone was at it again.
This time around, three fellows decided to try a Hydro Zig-Zag Zorb
ride, which cost about NZD 29 each for 3 people to share one Zorb
ball. This wet ride involved no harness, about 50 litres of water
poured inside the ball and then a push-off down the Zig-Zag track
for what sounded like a cross between a washing machine and a
rollercoaster, from all the sloshing and yelling going on!
 All
too soon, everyone finished their rolls and had to tumble out of
their Zorbs. One particularly addicted fellow had to be talked out
of going for yet another round and only agreed to leave his Zorb
when threatened with the loss of lunch, dinner and a ride back to
the hotel. Everyone was chattering at the top of their voices about
how thrilling the ride down was, the amazing feeling of getting
sloshed around in the wet Zorb and how cool it was when they reached
the top of the Zorb and were actually weightless – or felt like it –
for a few seconds! I think my face must have been turning green with
envy at this point! Fortunately, someone must have noticed and
tactfully suggested we head back to town for some recuperative
drinks.
Before driving off however, I promised myself that the next time I
visit New Zealand, the very next time, I would definitely come back
and do my own hamster ball impression. I would avoid all other
distractions and I would not pass 'Go'. Zorbing, here I come!
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