Last Paradise

Film (Excerpts) – 2013

Parental Guidance

Forty-five years in the making, this documentary looks at the history of Kiwi adventure sport. Via spectacular — original and archive — footage, it follows the pioneers (AJ Hackett et al) from sheep farm-spawned maverick surf kids to pre-Lonely Planet OEs chasing the buzz; and the innovative toys and pursuits that resulted. From the Hamilton Jet to the bungee, No.8 fencing wire smarts are iterated. The exhilaration of adventure is underpinned by a poignant ecological message — that the places where the paradise chasers could express themselves are now in peril.

One of the things I used to enjoy most when I was a kid was jumping off cliffs and bridges. But there's a limit you can go to — after about 40 or 50 feet, when you hit the water, it really hurt.
– AJ Hackett on the impetus to go further