Joe Louis rolls down a hill in a plastic ball

 

“Reeeeeady. Seeeeeet. OGO!”

The race begins! But I am not running. I am not even on a track. I am slipping and sliding in a large plastic ball rolling down a hill. And it is soooo much fun.

I am not just a hamster spinning in a wheel going nowhere fast. No, I am definitely going somewhere fast. Down a hill, to be precise.

I am not a bubble boy constrained to a plastic prison. My body is being flung around like a ragdoll, and I am loving it.

After one minute of wet, rotational chaos, my ball and I reach our destination at the base of the hill. I dive out through the ball’s small opening, reentering the world from this temporary womb. My friend does the same. We don’t know who won the race. It doesn’t matter. Let’s go again!

Rotorua, New Zealand

OGO or Zorb
The original ball-rolling-down-a-hill activity was invented by Zorb. Since the original invention, the founders of Zorb had a falling out and one went on to create the competitor, OGO. The activities are very similar, but I gave OGO the nod because it has a slightly longer track and the addition of water inside the ball sounded fun.

One ball is better than two
There are several types of rides you can do. I started doing a solo trip (straight track), but found going with a friend (sidewinder track) in the same ball to be a lot more fun as we crashed into each other the whole way down.

Cheese!
The company provides the option of buying photos of the roll down the hill, but they only get shots from outside. I recommend taking a waterproof camera (e.g. a GoPro) inside the ball with you.

Chill
There’s no need to rush. Between rolls down the hill take a break in the jacuzzi and watch as other people spin their way down.

Save
Look for deals and bundles with other activities in the area to save money.

 

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Resources

Ogo Rotorua: http://www.ogo.co.nz/

Russian Zorbing Accident (how not to zorb): http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/world/asia/russia-zorb-death/