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It takes BALLS to do this
... and a hill to roll them down
New Zealanders have sometimes been described as sensory-deprived souls with too much time on their hands. It was there that the world was given bungee jumping among other things. And, one day a guy got inside a big plastic ball and began running around like a hamster to see what it feels like. It's a strange thing to do, but ... what the heck?
Thus was born ...
Zorbing!
These photos were taken near
Brisbane, Australia where I joined
the ranks of proud Zorbanauts.
The ball is 15 feet in diameter (about 4½ meters), and inside is another smaller ball suspended by nylon strands. Between the two, there are a couple of feet of air. This cushion is what keeps you safe when you're hurtling down the side of a hill at speeds up to 50 kilometers per hour. As the ball rolls around, the person inside becomes pinned by centrifugal force.
There are TWO versions ... the wet Zorb (which I think is the most fun) and the dry one. In the wet version, a small amount of water is placed inside the ball with the Zorbanaut. Rolling down the hill in this situation gives you a good idea of what your socks feel like in a washing machine.
There's talk about taking the art of Zorbing to the next level by installing big mechanical bumpers that someone would operate by pushing buttons. The ball (and the Zorbanaut inside) would then be batted right & left as it rolls down the hill in what amounts to "a giant pinball game".
NOTE TO SELF: Never BE the ball in a pinball game!
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Jumping from a perfectly good building
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