TO ZORB OR NOT TO ZORB?
- Jul 14, 2010
- Aaron Thomas
Whether you call it Sphereing, Zorbing, Orbing or just plain madness; Hill Rolling has lasted over a decade now and is showing no signs of losing momentum just yet.
Descending from the giant playground of New Zealand – ‘Zorbing’ was invented by Andrew Akers & Dwane van der Sluis back in 1994 when they bravely hit the slopes of Auckland for the first ever Zorb roll. By 1997 the crazy concept had developed into a fully fledged and publicly accessible activity, and so began the phenomenon.
What is Zorbing?
So what exactly makes Zorbing so attractive to the general public? You’d be forgiven for thinking people would avoid it like the plague with current safety regulations and the unavoidable motion sickness the 12foot ball generously gives…
But, quite the contrary.
Harness Sphereing for 2 is our best selling individual experience in terms of tickets bought, with friends, relatives and lovers desperate to experience the giant hamster ball effect with someone special. It’s common knowledge that the experience doesn’t exactly last very long – yet ‘thrill seekers’ still flock to the slopes and wait for their turn inside the Zorb every weekend up and down the UK.
Perhaps the term ‘Thrill Seeker’ is precisely the answer to Zorbing’s outrageous popularity. Extreme sports in general fuse a relationship between skill, dedication and the climatic adrenaline rush that follows. Hill Rolling bypasses the difficulty and frustration of being untrained, to give the juicy adrenaline fruit with no prior effort. Sort of like a McDonald’s – the satisfied ‘full’ feeling without having to slave over a hot stove all day!
Judging from our collection of customer reviews – it appears as though most people love Sphereing.
The vast majority show that people had a great time and would do it again, with the only downside being ‘it didn’t last long enough’.
“Maddest thing I’ve ever done, loved every second of it (especially the part where the missus was feeling sick for about 3 hours after!!!)”
“We had the most fun day we’ve had in ages as a family. We even took Granny along to watch!!!”
“Was an excellent afternoon and have already recommended to several others”
The phenomenon has naturally evolved to its surroundings over the years into a range of varieties, including:
Harness Sphereing (4/5 Stars – Experience Rating)
Zorbers here are harnessed to the inside wall of the ball and can go solo, in tandem or as a threesome. Held in place and facing your accomplice, you will spin with every roll of the ball until grinding to a halt at the bottom of the hill.
Aqua Sphereing (3.5/5 Stars – Experience Rating)
Similar to the Harness Sphereing, only in place of the harness are buckets and buckets of water! This is commonly described as the ‘washing machine’ effect, and we have it for 3 people exclusively here! As if the 30mph spins aren’t enough, the delayed splash adds to the disorientation and subsequent adrenaline hit!
The newest of the variations is definitely the most extreme of the lot. The mutant created when forging Indoor Skydiving with Sphereing is quite simply madness! Ever seen a table tennis ball on a hair dryer? Now imagine you’re inside that ball! At the official opening and after our first ever ride, we suggested adding a neck support and to run it with a minimum of 2 people for comfort reasons… Excellent fun, but pretty serious!
Eclipse Sphereing is essentially Harness Sphereing…in the dark. The aim of the game is disorientation – and what better way to achieve that than to turn off the lights!? The extra thickness of the Eclipse Zorb actually allows it to operate throughout the year, as opposed to the usual April – September seasonality of all except Air Sphereing (in the UK).
Water Walking
Here the ground is displaced with water, so not much rolling – more the ‘walk on water effect’…inside the giant ball. Slow progress as you can imagine, but great fun!
Zurfing
Zurf is the official cousin of Zorbing and basically slices two thirds off the ball to create a giant tyre. Easy to climb in and out, the Zurf is more manoeuvrable on the water and spins like a hamster running wheel.
Aqua Sliding
The natural ‘extreme’ progression from Water Walking – being towed behind a speed boat! Climb into the giant ball and expect a bouncy ride at the mercy of the waves and the boat!
Snowball
Snowballing is essentially Harness Sphereing on snow. Adapting to the surroundings, the snow ball has brought the joy of Zorbing to the colder climates. Aqua Sphereing is not advisable here…as the delayed hit of a chunk of ice may not have quite the same adrenaline hit!
What next for Zorbing…
Zorb Bungee?
Zorb Skydive?
Zorb fighting?
Zorb Racing?
Zorbing is avaialble at 14 locations up and down the UK, from up in Perth to down in Newquay. You can book yourself directly in with our Book&Go service, just click ‘Book a Date’ and then choose your location to reserve your space!
