However, Mr Wright said he was "no newbie" to the sport and had aimed at landing in the grass area near the Anzac memorial on Marine Parade, opposite Pacific Ave.
Chris Wright says only his ego was injured after he crashed into a large tree while paragliding at Mount Maunganui. Photo / George Novak
Mr Wright came into land at the spot because it was away from people and beach-goers, he said.
"I looked at the grass area for where to land but the wing tip of the right-hand wing caught the edge of the branch of this large tree and it just sort of stopped."
Mr Wright began to drop toward the ground, coming to a stop less than a metre from the grass below.
"I was fine. I was dropped when I came down and just clipped out of the harness.
"I was suspended just above the ground, not even a metre."
Although Mr Wright was unhurt, the sail to his paraglider suffered some damage. It was too early last night to say exactly how much, he said.
"I managed to pull about three-quarters of it through."
Mount Maunganui firefighters used a ladder to retrieve the rest of the sail and lines.
Firefighters retrieve Mr Wright's sail from a tree.
Earlier this year, emergency services went into overdrive when a tourist thought a paraglider had spun out and crashed into the northern side of Mauao.
However, the paraglider had been practising aerobatic tricks and simply disappeared from view around the other side of the mountain.
ACC statistics show fewer than four active claims for hang gliding (paragliders fall under this category) in the Bay of Plenty last year compared with 68 active claims for all of New Zealand.
