Barrel of laughs for Shotover Canyon Swing and Hobbit actor   23 Dec 2013

Queenstown’s Shotover Canyon Swing made history yesterday (Sunday December 22) enabling an actor from the world-famous Hobbit trilogy to recreate his favourite scene from the latest movie- The Desolation Of Smaug.

Jed Brophy, who plays Nori the dwarf in the movies, was in Queenstown as part of a charity appearance for the local Wakatipu Youth Booth and decided to do the Shotover Canyon Swing Hobbit Barrel Jump as he’d “always wanted to do it”.

The new jump, which saw him fall off the Swing platform in a wine barrel, was created especially by the Swing team to recognise one of the key scenes in the second movie.

The Shotover Canyon Swing location was perfect to recreate the now famous scene in which Bilbo and the dwarves escape the dungeons of the Elvenking Thranduil by bouncing and spinning down a river's rapids in a bunch of barrels, pursued by both elves and orcs.

Speaking after his jump yesterday, Mr Brophy who’s from Taihape in the North Island, said the Shotover Canyon Swing Hobbit Barrel Jump was “a lot scarier than actually doing the barrel run in the movie”.

“That was so bloody awesome and flipping scary. The worst part was not knowing when it was actually gonna happen - the anticipation nearly killed me,” he said.

“The jump guys were seriously messing with me, so I had no idea when I was about to drop.”

“The barrel scene is by far my favourite in the movie, so to get the chance to recreate it here in the stunning Queenstown surroundings was brilliant.”

Mr Brophy went on to say how much he’d enjoyed filming the movies in his home country.

“This is a truly spectacular place we live in,” said Mr Brophy.

“I’m so proud to be a Kiwi and all the actors raved about how wonderful New Zealand is. The scenery, people and whole ambience is amazing.”

“Plus I love how innovative the NZ film industry is and I certainly see a lot more movies being made here in the future, which is great for Kiwi actors and the whole country’s economy.”

“It’s that good old Kiwi ingenuity that makes it just work for us. The Shotover Canyon Swing is another great example of that - thinking outside the square and coming up with something totally random and becoming extremely successful at it,” he added.

Shotover Canyon Swing Marketing Projects Manager Stephen Thompson said the jump team had “an absolute ball” conjuring up the new jump.

“They guys love finding new, scary and out there ways of jumping and the Hobbit Barrel Jump is perfect for the Swing,” he said.

“As soon as we heard about the Hobbit’s famous barrel scene and that we had Jed Brophy coming out we knew we had to recreate it here as we’ve got the ideal set-up.”

“Who better to be our guinea pig than Nori the dwarf? Jed loved it and raved about coming back to jump again.”

Mr Brophy has already completed many other Queenstown activities but hadn’t had the chance to do the Shotover Canyon Swing until yesterday.

“It’s definitely been on my bucket list and I’m already planning my return and what jump I’ll do next time and with who. You never know I may be able to persuade Peter Jackson to do it.”

About Shotover Canyon Swing:
Not your average backyard experience, the Shotover Canyon Swing is an undie-staining, adrenalin stimulating activity achieved by launching yourself from a platform perched on top of a very high cliff edge. Reaching speeds of up to 150kph as the rocks rush towards you in a 60m freefall, the ropes then smoothly swing you out across the famous Shotover Canyon.

From mild to mind blowing, we’ve got a jump style to suit the most timid of swingers and the most adventurous adrenalin junkie, including a Tandem Cliff Jump, specially designed for two. Shotover Canyon Swing is a multi-award winning, Outdoors Mark certified and Qualmark-endorsed activity.

All Shotover Canyon Swing experiences are safe, fun and rewarding. Safety considerations are fundamental to every aspect of the operation with the best crew, training, equipment and procedures in place to give ensure the best experience. Swingers are secure in a chest and seat harness and swing on 2 independent ropes, each with a breaking strain of 2.8 tonnes, enough to lift four cars.

All aspects of the swing satisfy industry safety requirements and are regularly inspected, maintained and upgraded. Experienced and extensively trained jumpmasters ensure your safety at all times. Regular rigorous inspections ensure the highest standards of operation.

To become a fan of Shotover Canyon Swing on Facebook visit http://www.facebook.com/ShotoverCanyonSwing

ENDS

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