Tiger Woods hits highest bungy - twice

Tiger Woods

If Tiger Woods' insurers were worried about his stock-car racing plans, they would have been apoplectic at his latest adventures.

The world's number one golfer twice conquered New Zealand's highest bungy jump, the Nevis Highwire, during a whirlwind visit to Queenstown yesterday.

Woods and his New Zealand caddy and close friend Steve Williams flew to the town by private jet and were hosted on a deliberately low-profile visit by Queenstown developer John Darby.

After a two-hour lunch at the Amisfield Winery at Lake Hayes, Woods and Williams went by helicopter to the Nevis Highwire bungy, about 32km from Queenstown.

The pair each jumped twice from the cable-car platform 134m above the Nevis River. The cable car is held by 380m-long tension wires spanning the Nevis Valley but the canyon's walls narrow down to only 30m wide at river level. The jump features about 8.5 seconds of freefall and is seen as one of the world's most daunting challenges for thrillseekers.

Woods arrived in New Zealand last week to act as best man at Williams' wedding in Kumeu, Auckland, on Friday and to take part in the Huntly Celebrity Classic, a stock car event, tonight.

Mr Darby said he had known both Williams and Woods for some time but had not attended the wedding.

"I was caught up here, so they popped down to Queenstown and we looked after them for the day.

"It was nice to see them down here, and nice to have a relaxed time. It was the first time Tiger's been to Queenstown."

Amisfield winery duty manager Juliana Cundall said the Tiger Woods group of about 15 arrived in three helicopters about 1pm and stayed for nearly two hours.

The party ate in private in a gallery area with Woods enjoying a pinot gris and a pinot noir with his meal, which consisted of "lots of lovely big platters" chosen by the chef.

The winery was "very busy" at the time of the visit, Ms Cundall said.

"Some of the public knew Tiger was here but they were very respectful."

The winery had been warned about a week ago that Woods was coming for lunch and had managed to keep it a secret.

The visit had been "very exciting" and had gone without a hitch.

Mr Darby said he also showed the pair the $100 million Jacks Pt development, which features an 18-hole golf course.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES