Bungee jumping off the highest man-made bungee bridge in the world

I must say, bungee jumping was the one thing I never thought I would do in my life -- and there aren't many things I refuse to do. I hate the feeling of free fall more than anything -- you know, that sensation when your stomach drops? ugh, I shiver just thinking about it! I went on one roller coaster one time and my life, and never again am I putting myself through that.

It was then only natural that the first time I travelled to South Africa to volunteer, when everyone was planning their trip to go bungee jump, the thought of doing it never even crossed my mind. Even afterwards, when people were showing me videos of their bungee jump I never felt any regret not doing it. It looked cool, but that's it.

I returned home from South Africa, and gradually, seeing more and more pictures and videos of people's jumps, reading their stories of the jump, I started actually feeling regret. The good news was that I knew that I was returning to South Africa the following summer, and I told myself that this time I would be courageous and jump off that bridge.

The thought alone -- of being at the edge and diving down into abyss -- would bring up a wave of nervousness that would make me rethink if I could truly do this. But I refused to back down!

I remember when the day finally came, we were driving towards Bloukrans Bungy (have I mentioned that it is the highest bungee bridge in the world?!), I started getting really nervous. When we turned onto the site, there was about a five minute drive to the parking, and our guide (shoutout to David Kennedy, only the coolest South African ever) started blasting Clocks by Coldplay, and to this day it remains the song that most reminds me of South Africa whenever I listen to it. My emotions were so high, like I'd never felt before, and the loud music made everything seem so surreal. "What if the cord snaps?!", "What if I pee myself?!", "What if I have a heart attack?!"; were all thoughts going through my head. I actually think I went to the bathroom three times right before we were called onto the bridge -- I truthfully thought I would wet myself once I jumped.

Once geared up, we had about an hour wait. We walked around, took it the beautiful mountain views and waited for the slow minutes to tick by. I was so happy -- but also terrified -- when they finally told us it was our turn.


We were brought in a group of about ten people who would jump, and then friends that just wanted to come along and watch the jumpers. To get to the jumping platform you have to walk on this hanging grated bridge under the main bridge. For most people, this was the worst part: because it is grated, you can see absolutely everything bellow. I didn't look down as I didn't wanna terrify myself even more.

About ten minutes later, we reached the platform and and we are explained certain rules. Only another girl and myself were jumping from our group, so our guide asked the guys working there if we could be the first ones jumping. The other girl got picked as the first jumper, and I the second.


Now, the nerves were really at the highest.

Thee guys working there started gearing me up. Thank God for them, really, because they were the funniest and sweetest guys ever. They really helped me calm down -- or at least, the most I could calm down. The other girl was already at the edge and I was sat down next in row. The funniest part is that, days before we got to the bungee, the people I was there with kept saying that they thought I would cry at the bungee. I kept telling them, and myself, that there was no way because I wasn't really an easy crier, and why would I cry? Yes, I'd be nervous, but crying wasn't something I'd envisioned myself doing. But yes, you guessed it correctly, I did start crying when I was sitting in line, right after the other girl jumped. It wasn't an ugly cry where I was refusing to jump. It was simply due to a rise of nerves and emotions that had to come out in some way. I was basically laughing and crying and also excited about what was about to happen.


It was finally my turn, and the guys brought me to the edge, and suddenly I didn't feel anything. I think I just couldn't believe what was about to happen anymore. I started dancing around, and then they put my arms up, told me to jump, and I dived right off.

The first few seconds, I honestly do not remember anything. All I know is that I closed my eyes despite telling myself not to do it, and I felt my face do some weird grimace. When I finally opened my eyes, I just let myself feel. I felt the awful stomach drop, which you feel about twice because there's three ups-and-downs, but the third is very mild. But what I mostly felt is a sense of absolute freedom. I felt like a bird rushing towards the ground, with no worries (well, I mean except for the one that I might die, but you know, details). My absolute favourite part has to be when everything just stopped and I was hanging upside down for a few minutes. There was no sound down there -- it was complete silence, and I felt at peace. I couldn't believe I'd just jumped off a bridge, but I knew it had been the most amazing thing I'd ever done in my life.



When the guy came to get me, I was sad. Many people had told me they hated it when they were simply hanging there because they felt as if their feet were slipping out of the thing wrapped around them, and because of the blood rushing to their head. But I didn't and even wanted to stay there longer.

I got back up to the bridge, and that's when the adrenaline really hit me. I'd never done anything like this, so I'd never felt what adrenaline really was like. That's when I understood why there were so many adrenaline junkies. It was amazing! I couldn't stop laughing and dancing and telling everyone I wanted to go again.



And I still do. I know that whenever the chance presents itself, I will not hesitate to bungee jump again.

You know how the saying goes that, "fear is temporary, regret is forever"... well this is the moment I truly realized that in my life. I didn't bungee the first time I went to South Africa, and I regret it a whole year. I am so happy I finally did it because even though, yes I was petrified, it was only for a few moments, and that feeling of fear did not compare to the amazing sensation of bungee jumping.