Memoirs of a Zorbonaut

A Review

Step one: take a giant PVC hamster ball. Step two: suspend said hamster ball by thousands of multicoloured nylon strands within a larger PVC hamster ball. Step three: get in the hamster ball. Step four: find a hill… and you’ve got zorbing.

The peaceful Dorchester countryside seems like an unlikely place to indulge in some extreme adrenaline sports. But beyond the hills, through the fields and down the dirt tracks, smack, bang in the middle of nowhere, lies Zorb South. Originating in New Zealand, Zorbing is still a fairly undiscovered adventure activity in the UK, but slowly but surely it’s beginning to develop an underground fan base. And with numerous different Zorb riding options it’s not hard to see why the bizarre activity is becoming so popular.

My first Zorbing experience, in June 2007, came in the form of a dual-harness Zorb ride. In English, that means my boyfriend and I were strapped into the Zorb by harnesses, facing each other. For the more adventurous ‘Zorbonaut’ came the option of Hydro-Zorbing – yes that means hydro as in water. As in, a giant hamster ball, travelling at speed, down a hill, without a harness, with a bucket of cold water chucked in for good measure!

Hardcore thrill-seekers shouldn’t be put off or mislead by the sound of the dual-harness Zorb ride though. Firstly, getting to share the ride with a friend or loved one really made the experience special, and secondly as the guide warned us (just as we’d been strapped in, might I add,) “The dual-harness ride is actually much bumpier than being free within the sphere.” So there we were, suspended quite awkwardly in the humid bubble, at the top of the 200 meter runway. Luckily for me, or perhaps not, in hindsight, I was not facing forward. As the ball was pushed from the launch pad, and momentum began to mount the ride was like nothing I could have imagined. The guide was right for a start. A gentle roll, it was not! The overriding sensation that took over me was a serious case of the giggles, with the odd squawking sound uncontrolably coming out of my mouth with every bump. The way I would describe Zorbing would be: ‘like falling down a staircase made of clouds, in a balloon, in slow-motion.’

In total the run in the Zorb only lasted about 30-40 seconds, which may seem short considering what you pay. But, on the other hand, Zorbing is not something you are likely to try everyday, (unless you live in New Zealand, or are a hamster) so an experience definitely worth a go, even if it is slightly over-priced.