Recently I found myself on an aeroplane flying from Singapore to Kuching, Malaysia.
The Silk Air flight took just over an hour, and to pass a bit of time I decided to flick through the in-flight magazine.
Nestled in the magazine, which contained all sorts of interesting bits and bobs about upcoming festivals, places to visit and Asian recipes, was one page which caught my eye.
The picture showed a keen thrill-seeker flying through the air with nothing but a cord around their ankles.
The attached article related to a recently-opened bungy operation and mentioned the beginnings of commercial bungy jumping in "Queensland, New Zealand".
Clearly, that was a typo, but even through my jet-lagged haze, the mention of the activity in a magazine on an aeroplane half a world away from home made me proud.
Proud to be a Kiwi who calls Queenstown - the birthplace of commercial bungy jumping - home, and also proud the two men behind the bungy brand have been flying our flag for 20 years all over the world.
No doubt the people of Pentecost Island, who, coinciding with the yam harvest, jump from a constructed tower every year with vines attached to their ankles to prove their manhood, would be interested to know their ritual sparked a worldwide craze for adrenaline junkies and thrillseekers.
There is also little doubt members of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club who tried a few experimental jumps in the 1970s would be interested to know they were in part responsible for the AJ Hackett Bungy empire.
Mr Hackett happened to see a video of this group in action and, like most successful businessmen, let his imagination take over.
After meeting Henry van Asch while skiing in Wanaka, the pair hatched their plan.
The first, most vital piece of equipment to create was the bungy cord.
It took months of developing and testing latex rubber cords with the help of Auckland University scientists before Mr Hackett was ready to test the invention himself.
Travelling to a ski area in Tignes, France, Mr Hackett completed the first bungy jump.
From there, he travelled to the Eiffel Tower where, in 1987, a PR coup was pulled off when he jumped to prove the complete faith the pair had in their newly-created bungy ropes.
Mr Hackett said one thing led to another, and requests started coming in from members of the public who wanted to jump.
"It was like an exclusive thing [initially]. It was for friends only. It wasn't for strangers. It was too special.
"We did a couple of little sessions in Ohakune of three days and 10 days, and basically that worked commercially, and we decided we'd have a go for a little period of time."
In 1987 Mr Hackett and Mr van Asch had visited the then run-down Kawarau Bridge and began to formulate their plan.
Mr Hackett contacted the Department of Conservation and requested a meeting. After explaining what they wanted to do he was successful in securing some time with Doc in Queenstown, "as long as you're not talking about the Kawarau Bridge".
On the way to that meeting the pair stopped off at the bridge again and found it rotting, roped off and with fire damage to one end.
"We had a discussion with Doc and at the end of it basically asked if they'd been out there lately."
The department hadn't, and was duly informed about the seemingly recent fire damage.
"We talked about restoring it ... we made an agreement - let us use it for 30 days, raise a bit of money to help fix it. That was our motivation, to find a nice spot ... and this [bridge] was clearly the best spot to do it."{C}
Kawarau Bridge was not their only option - they had investigated Cromwell, but knew of plans to build the dam and flood the area; and they had also looked at Skippers, but realised the Kawarau had the easiest access.
Last Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the world's first commercial bungy jump at Queenstown's Kawarau Bridge.
November 12, 1988 was the day the bungy empire began its unstoppable rise in the competitive world of adventure tourism and it marked the day Queenstown secured the name "Adventure Capital of New Zealand".
Twenty-eight people lined up that day, paying $75 each to stand on the historic bridge which crosses the Kawarau River, have a rubber cord attached to their ankles, and take the 43m leap of faith.
The first man to jump was an American living in Queenstown, Jef Desbecker. Twenty years on, more than half a million people have stood in that same spot in Queenstown and leaped off.
Even in 1988 Mr van Asch said he and Mr Hackett knew Queenstown was the "mecca for tourism".
"We developed the concept of the double-sided jump deck, and AJ got to work with a gang of mates who helped pull it all together.
"Lots of people had heard what we were going to do and the buzz around town was huge because we were pretty excited ourselves, so around 1pm, after AJ had finished painting the deck, we did a display, and people rolled up to jump.
"The whole build-up was such a haze of activity that we didn't have too much time to think about it, to realise what we might have started. Opening day was a bit of a blur, but I know several hundred people came out to watch.
"Some thought we were mad and that we'd never last, but with the response we started to get an idea we were on to a great thing. Things went well and Doc was happy so our licence was extended to six months, then five years."
Mr van Asch said in those early days there was nothing at the site.
"There wasn't even a fence. It was a cliff, and people stood on the edge of the cliff - we didn't think about Osh, we were very concerned about keeping ourselves and our jumpers safe.
"We got waratahs and number eight wire [to erect a safety fence] and then a couple of years later the viewing deck came."
And so, the bungy empire began.
The pair worked to develop the Bungy Code of Practice, which now provides the framework for the New Zealand/Australian Bungy Jump Standard.
As more and more sites popped up in New Zealand and around the world, Queenstown became more widely known as the birthplace of commercial jumping and the visitors flocked to the Kawarau Bridge site.
So a multimillion-dollar development, completed in 2004, ensured visitors to the site were given an appropriate entry.
Twenty years on, Mr van Asch said it was humbling to reflect, knowing so many people had experienced the thrill of the jump, many of them feeling the challenge had "changed their lives".
One such jumper was Scotsman Stuart McMillan. On November 2, he conquered his fear of heights at the Kawarau Bridge, and raised $NZ5566 for a Scottish charity, the Accord Hospice.
"I always knew bungy would be successful if we could manage the business," Mr Hackett said.
"The challenge has been . . . keeping everything going from a commercial sense."
About 700 school pupils toured the facility on Wednesday - a lucky few getting to bungy jump for free.
"We've got amazing people that work with us, they're passionate about their jobs ... it's a very positive environment," Mr Hackett said.
"People are still getting a huge buzz and we haven't killed anybody."
"It has been a fantastic ride and we're both really happy to have done something that's been fulfilling for all our jumpers and crew from around the world, for Queenstown, and for tourism," Mr van Asch said.
