Riding with Ken Block is probably as close to death as one can get.
Not because the 47-year-old American is a bad driver but because he is one of the best rally drivers in the world and leaves little margin for error.
Block is here to contest the Otago Rally this weekend.
A large pothole, a wild pig running across the road, even an unexpected sneeze while travelling down a narrow, tree-lined Flagstaff forestry track at more than 130kmh could literally end us.
That's why his crew made sure I gave my next-of-kin details and signed loads of insurance and lawsuit waivers.
Comforting thought, eh?
As Block pulled up to the start line, co-driver Alex Gelsomino vacated his seat to make way for me.
The Italian American has been co-driving for Block since 2005 and says getting into a rally car with him is far from ''just another day at the office''.
''You're always scared. Not just the co-drivers - even the drivers get scared.
''They say if you're not scared, you're not going fast enough.''
Not something you want to hear when you're about to get into a rally car.
Now, as much as I would like to skite about my ride on the wild side and say how brave I was for stifling my screams as we flew into corner after corner at more than 100kmh, I can't.
It was positively terrifying.
I can't tell for sure, but over the roar of the car, I think Ken was quietly snickering at my futile attempts to hold a camera steady as we bounced down a track fit for mountain goats, and experienced various extremes of positive and negative G-force.
Apart from that, his face remained expressionless throughout the entire two-and-a-half-minute roller-coaster ride.
Surprisingly, as the jaunt progressed, I began to feel I was in safe hands, sliding around corners and watching the trees start to blur as the speed increased.
False sense of security?
I think not.
At the end, Block asks: ''How was that?'' in his strong Californian accent.
English translation: Are your underpants still clean?
And all I can think is, why would anyone pay to go to the Gold Coast to ride a roller-coaster when you can get the same squeal-inducing thrill in your own backyard?
If you can come this close to death and walk away with a stupid grin on your face, like I did, how could it be bad?
