Bungy Jumping at AJ Hackett Smithfield

Australia’s original bungy jump site

Long before bungy jumping was a fixture on adventure-travel checklists everywhere, it existed at exactly one site in Australia: a purpose-built tower rising out of the rainforest at Smithfield, on the northern edge of Cairns. AJ Hackett opened it in 1990, a few years after the company’s founder had made headlines jumping off the Eiffel Tower with a hand-tied cord, and it remains the benchmark jump in the region. Everything else that has opened since — canyon swings, adventure parks, tandem thrill rides across the country — traces back to this tower and this operator.

What makes Smithfield worth a dedicated page, rather than a line in a broader “things to do” list, is that it does two distinct things well: a classic bungy jump, and a Giant Swing that is a completely different kind of ride on the same structure. Confusing the two, or confusing this site with the rainforest attractions further up the road, is the easiest way to book the wrong experience. This guide is only about what happens at the Smithfield tower itself.

Where Smithfield actually is

Smithfield sits on the Captain Cook Highway, about 16 km north of central Cairns and well short of Kuranda. It is also the lower terminal of the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, which is why the name shows up constantly in Skyrail bookings and day-trip itineraries — and why so many visitors assume the bungy tower is part of the Skyrail experience, or somewhere inside Kuranda village itself. It is neither. The AJ Hackett site is a separate commercial operation a short distance from the Skyrail base station, reached by its own driveway off the highway, with its own car park, reception, and jump deck. You can visit one without the other, and plenty of people do.

This distinction matters for planning. If you’re combining a bungy jump with a rainforest day, you’re looking at two separate stops along the same stretch of road north of Cairns — not one ticket that covers both. The Kuranda Scenic Railway starts from a different station again, either in Cairns or at Freshwater, and doesn’t pass anywhere near the tower. Treat Smithfield, Kuranda, and the Skyrail as three points on the same road, not three names for the same place.

What happens at the tower

The jump platform stands over a small lake ringed by rainforest, a setting that has become one of the more photographed backdrops in Far North Queensland precisely because it looks nothing like the concrete-and-steel bungy sites found elsewhere in the world. Two rides are offered from the same structure:

The bungy jump is the solo, head-first fall most people picture when they hear the word. A jump master fits the cord, checks the harness, and counts down before you step off the platform. Depending on the package, the cord is calibrated so jumpers either stop well clear of the water or, on request, touch the surface on the way down — a detail worth confirming when booking if a dry landing matters to you.

The Giant Swing launches from the same tower but is a different mechanism entirely: rather than a cord that stretches and rebounds, riders are dropped in a harness that swings through a wide pendulum arc, reaching speeds that surprise most first-timers. It can be ridden solo or as a pair, which makes it the more sociable of the two rides — many couples and friends do the swing together and the jump separately.

Ride	Format	Best suited to
Bungy jump	Solo, head-first freefall on a cord	Anyone chasing the classic bungy experience
Giant Swing	Solo or tandem freefall into a pendulum arc	Pairs, first-timers nervous about a solo jump
Combo	Both rides, same visit	Anyone who wants the full tower experience

Most visitors don’t have to choose between the two. A combined ticket covering both the bungy and the swing is the most common way to book, and it means you get value from a single trip out to Smithfield rather than deciding on the day and potentially wishing you’d done both.

a combined bungy jump and Giant Swing session at Smithfield covers both rides in one visit and is the option most first-timers end up choosing once they see what the swing involves.

If you already know you only want the classic fall, a standalone bungy jump is booked on its own, and if the swing is the one you’re set on — often the case for couples or friends riding together — the Giant Swing by itself is available without the jump attached.

How the day works

Bookings run in timed sessions rather than a queue you join on arrival, and most Cairns-based visitors are collected by the operator’s own transfer rather than driving themselves. That’s worth knowing before you plan around a rental car: transfers pick up from central Cairns hotels and, depending on the package, from the northern beaches as well, which removes the need to find parking at Smithfield or navigate the highway turnoff yourself.

On arrival, staff run through the safety briefing, weigh jumpers (a bungy cord is calibrated to body weight, so this step isn’t optional), and fit harnesses. First-time jumpers are walked through exactly what the countdown and the step-off will feel like before they’re anywhere near the platform edge. Photo and video packages are sold on-site and are worth considering — the moment of stepping off a 1990s-era Australian bungy tower is not one most people manage to capture well on their own phone.

For anyone who wants a second run at the platform, or wants footage from an unusual angle, a two-jump package that includes a roof-level jump and media adds a second attempt from a different point on the structure, with photos and video included rather than purchased separately.

Choosing between the jump, the swing and the combo

If you are unsure, think about what worries you most. A first-time jumper who dreads the solo step off the platform often finds the Giant Swing easier to face, because you are not alone on the deck and the fall turns into a sweeping arc. Someone who wants the classic bungy story to tell at home should book the jump. And if you are travelling with a partner or a friend, the swing is the ride you can share, while the jump is the one you each do on your own.

The combo makes sense for most people for a practical reason: the trip out to Smithfield is the main cost in time, and once you are there, adding the second ride is simple. If you are weighing it against other thrills, our guides to skydiving and jet-ski and jet-boat rides show how the alternatives compare.

Watching versus jumping

Not everyone in your group has to jump. Friends and family who would rather keep their feet on the ground can usually watch from the viewing areas near the tower, which makes Smithfield an easy stop for mixed groups. If someone in the party uses a wheelchair or has limited mobility, check the operator’s current access arrangements first, and read our accessible travel guide for wider planning on the region.

Families with children should look at the operator’s age rules before promising anything to teenagers. Our Cairns with kids guide covers activities that suit a wider age range, and the travel safety guide explains how to approach adventure sports sensibly in the tropics.

Age, weight, and health restrictions

AJ Hackett sets minimum age and weight limits for both rides, along with a standard list of health conditions that rule a jump out — pregnancy, certain cardiovascular and spinal conditions, and recent surgery are the usual categories across bungy operators worldwide, and Smithfield is no exception. These limits are set and updated by the operator, so confirm the current figures at the time of booking rather than relying on any number printed elsewhere. Anyone under 18 will typically need a parent or guardian’s written consent, arranged in advance.

What it costs, and what it doesn’t include

Ticket prices vary by which combination you book — jump only, swing only, or the combo — and by whether you add photo and video packages or a second jump. As a rough sense of scale, a single-ride ticket at Smithfield sits in a similar bracket to a tandem skydive over Cairns, while the combo naturally costs more than either ride alone.

There’s no reef tax or park levy attached to this activity — that surcharge is specific to boat trips heading out to the Great Barrier Reef — so the price you’re quoted for Smithfield is closer to the final number than a reef trip’s headline price tends to be. Photo and video add-ons, and a second jump, are the main things that push the total up beyond the base ticket.

Getting there without a car

Because most visitors book through the operator’s own transfer, you don’t need a rental car for this one specifically. That said, if you’re weighing up whether to hire a car for your wider Cairns trip, our guide on whether you need a car in Cairns and the broader getting around Cairns guide both cover how transfers, tours, and self-driving compare across the region.

If you are driving yourself, the turnoff for the AJ Hackett site is clearly signed off the Captain Cook Highway at Smithfield — not the Skyrail turnoff, and not the road into Kuranda village, even though all three are within a few minutes of one another on the same stretch of highway. Anyone flying in and heading straight there should check Cairns Airport, about a 25-minute drive south, for arrival timing.

When to go

The tower operates year-round, and unlike reef trips or river rafting, it isn’t governed by ocean conditions or dam releases. The main seasonal factor is comfort rather than safety: the dry season, from May to October, brings lower humidity and more pleasant waiting-around conditions between jumps, while the wet season’s afternoon downpours can occasionally affect sessions. Either way, this is one of the more weather-resilient adventure activities in the region compared with an outer-reef boat trip or a scenic flight, both of which can be cancelled by conditions well beyond the operator’s control.

What this page doesn’t cover

Smithfield’s tower is one entry in a longer list of adrenaline activities around Cairns, and it’s worth being clear about what sits outside this guide. Tandem skydiving over Cairns and Mission Beach, where jumpers land on the sand rather than beside a rainforest lake, is covered in our skydiving guide. White-water rafting on the Barron and Tully rivers — a completely different kind of adrenaline, on water rather than in the air — has its own guide.

And the canopy tours and zipline circuits through the Daintree rainforest, which move you horizontally through the treetops rather than dropping you vertically, are covered separately in our ziplining and canopy tours guide. If you’re building a full adrenaline day or week around Cairns, our adventure and adrenaline category page lays out how these activities fit together.

Fitting it into a Cairns itinerary

A Smithfield visit is a half-day commitment once transfers, the briefing, and the jump itself are accounted for, which makes it easy to slot into a short stay. If you’re only in the region for one day in Cairns, a morning jump followed by an afternoon on the Skyrail or a Kuranda visit is a workable pairing, given how close the three sites sit to one another along the same road — just remember you’re booking them as separate activities, not a single combined pass. For longer stays, it slots naturally alongside a reef day and a Daintree day without competing for the same time slot.

What to wear and bring

Wear comfortable clothes that stay put when you are upside down, and shoes that are secure on your feet. Loose items in pockets are a bad idea on any jump, so leave phones, keys and sunglasses with a companion or in a locker if one is offered. Our Cairns packing list covers sun protection and tropical clothing for the rest of the trip, and it is worth reading before you plan an outdoor half-day.

Budgeting for the day

Because the base ticket, photo packages and a second jump are priced separately, decide before you arrive what you want to add, so the on-site upsell does not catch you out. Our Cairns travel costs and budget guide helps you place a Smithfield morning within a wider spending plan, and avoiding tourist traps in Cairns explains how to judge whether an add-on is worth paying for.

Pairing it with the Skyrail or the train

The Skyrail terminal is close to the tower, so the two fit together naturally. If you are deciding how to reach Kuranda, our Skyrail and Kuranda Scenic Railway guide and the Skyrail versus Scenic Railway comparison explain the options, and the Kuranda day trip guide shows what to do once you arrive. For an adrenaline-heavy stay, the adventure week itinerary strings several of these activities together, and how many days in Cairns can help you decide whether there is room for a jump at all.

Booking notes

Sessions fill up, particularly in the Australian school holiday periods and during the dry-season peak from May to October, so booking a day or two ahead rather than turning up on the day is the safer approach. Confirm your pickup point and time the night before if you’ve booked a hotel transfer, and arrive in clothing you don’t mind getting slightly wet if you’ve opted for a water-touch bungy jump. Beyond that, there’s little else to prepare — this is one of the simpler adventure bookings in the Cairns region precisely because it doesn’t depend on tides, reef conditions, or river flow the way so much else on this stretch of coast does.