Blame It On The Altitude

 DISCLAIMER:  Do not read if you have a fear of heights, are not into adrenaline-inducing activities, gave birth to me, or care about my sanity.

For some reason, we decided earlier this week that it would be a GREAT idea to go to the world's highest bungee jump off Bloukrans Bridge near Storms River.  We took a 10 hour bus ride on the uncomfortable luxurious Translux which left Cape Town before the sun came up on Tuesday.  It was a gorgeous drive with the countryside all around, including farms, ostrich farms, and mountains.  SAfrica is beautiful outside of Cape Town, too.  I know, sounds obvious, but I had to affirm this because I think I must promote tourism/living here as much as possible.  Anyway, cut to Wednesday - we wake up at 4am.  Then go back to sleep, then wake up and make arrangements to acquire some FACE ADRENALINE.  Above is Anne Marie in the van, knowing she is about to take the jump.  Don't let the smile fool you.  I was quite relaxed since I had virtually made up my mind about not doing it.

At this point, we crapped ourselves got really giddy.  The symbol for bungee jumping doesn''t make much sense to me, but we get over things.  Also, SAfricans spell bungy like that.  I can't decide if I like it, but I'll use it from this point on for authenticity.

 

Apparently 216 meters (the length of the bungy jump) is about 700 feet.  Assuming a story is 10 feet, it's like jumping off a 70 floor building.  Again, at this point in the story I am only going onto the bridge and ziplining across it, NOT jumping.

 

Before you even get onto the bridge, however, they strap you into a harness.  Mine was bright yellow and quite snug.  They are very legit.  At any given moment, at least 3 professionals are attending to you and making sure you're good to go.  But they also regard you with total disbelief if you say you won't jump.  They find that quite hilarious and foolish, actually.  I did not understand why, especially given THIS is what I would be jumping off of:

 

I promise it's more terrifying than not as bad as it looks.  Also, the camera doesn't capture the gorgeous landscape, which consists of two very green mountains with a river running between them.  It leads to the Indian Ocean at its mouth, which we visited later in the day (see the post above).  Cars drive above the bridge but you can't even tell when you're on it. 

 

Fast-forward to around 10am, when everyone else has gone (including Kaitlin and Anne Marie, who loved the jump) and three British surfers decide they would be devo (devastated) if I did not jump.  To the point where they spent a good 20 minutes persuading me that "I would regret it for the rest of my life" and that it was "best thing I'll ever do."  I was still really dubious, but then the girls reminded me that we had taken a 10-hour bus ride and at no other time would I get to jump off a bridge towards a river and survive.  This photo was taken right before the jump, and it is usually only taken with the guy who finalizes all the safety gear with your harness and shin straps.  I couldn't even see where I was jumping because they have a railing about 5 feet back from the edge.  To say it was safe would be an understatement.  Also, they started playing BEPs "Boom Boom Pow" right before I was to go, which made it GREAT.

 

I'm surprised the photo isn't completely blurry from how much I was shaking.  I think mostly I was just in shock and didn't even fully grasp what was about to happen.  Luckily my breathing was steady and I was over my first adrenaline rush from ziplining, which helped.

 

They take a photo of your feet for evidence.  Also, I love that these shoes have done so much.  They've hiked Table Mountain and have done the highest bungy in the world.  I think I might have to turn them into an art piece one day.

 

I hobbled over to the edge, holding on for dear life to the two guys helping me.  What you don't see is that there are tons of people on the big station they have under the bridge, complete with two bungy cords (though two people never jump at once), two receiving stations for post-jump, a DJ booth, and equipment boxes everywhere.  When I jumped there also happened to be three Brits who were freezing and had stayed way past their jump times, my Capetonian BFFLs, and all the others reminding me via scream of what I was about to do.  I put my toes over the edge (like Kaitlin, above), bent my knees, heard "3, 2, 1, BUNGY!" and they let go of me...

 

 

 

700 feet straight down.

 

I refused to let go of the hand of the guy who drops down to pick you up after the jump.  And I do not remember what nonsense I was speaking to him.  Everyone was right- best. experience. ever.

 

I think at this point I wanted to go again.

 

They take a video post-jump which I declined to buy but was way too funny.

We got a picture CD of all our jumps.  Here is Anne Marie's take off, which was beyond awesome.  Note how I went off standing vertically, and she dove.  Eventually you end up going head-first though.  It will be the only time in my life that I have flown outside of a plane.  Honestly, when I looked over the edge, a huge smile burst onto my face.  I saw the river glittering below, the trees all around, and the mountains hugging the periphery.  It defies description and is going to be hard to beat.  I can't recommend it enough.

 I just remembered that FACE ADRENALINE (the bungy company) also gave us some promo photos on the CD.  Here are some of them:

Main logo of the company that runs the Bungy.  Quite intense, eh?

PROOF.  I also have a certificate of my own, which I will definitely be putting on my resume.  Intern/World-Record-Bungy-Jumper 09.

A sign we saw on the way to the bridge.  This actually scared some people more than the jump.

The walkway out to the bridge.  Nervous good times.

Jump-off point above the arch.  I would love to meet the person who thought of doing this off Bloukrans.

The catwalk across the bottom of the bridge.  This was actually scarier than jumping because it's quite long and you can see right through to the gorge.  I ended up looking down the entire way back even though I was trying to will myself against it.

The launch pad!  Above you can see the camera that films you before you go, as well as the safety belts which everyone who gets near the railing has to strap into.  You only get onto the black part right before you jump.

When you are looking down after jumping, it looks like you are going to fall into the river.  The photo doesn't capture how pretty it was, though.

The view when you're hanging out (haha).

Whale!  You can see the ocean from a distance.