`Fear is momentary, Regret is Forever!’

BLOUKRAN BUNGEE JUMP – WORLD`S HIGHEST

`Fear is momentary, Regret is Forever!’

After a very spur of the moment decision to go for the bungee jump now rather than hoping for the weather cooperation the following day, we jumped into the car and headed the 24km to the Bloukran’s bridge (world’s highest SA bridge) which stands a whopping 216m off of the ground. Before we backed out, we immediately paid the $650 Rands (each) which was non refundable. Because it was the end of the day, we were the last jumpers – jumper 41 and 42. We were immediately escorted to the underside of the bridge where we walked to the center of the bridge on a very ‘shanty’ catwalk that had grating (which means it is see through i.e. no looking down!)

The group decided I would be the first jumper after they looked at my terror stricken face. The rest happened so quickly but I can honestly say that it was the scariest but coolest thing I have ever done in my entire life. Within minutes, they had strapped me in and were helping me ‘inch’ towards the edge. I tried so hard to do the jump on my own but after three attempts of not jumping and losing control of my legs (shaking uncontrollably) they had to give me a little nudge to make that final plunge – I mean...there is nothing normal about jumping off of a perfectly good bridge. The rush and the adrenaline that you feel while falling is out of this world...I loved every moment of it and I would do it a hundred times over if only I did not have to go through the ordeal of jumping off. This experience was very neat because you got a total of three falls – the first one was ~200m, taking a total time of 5 seconds to free fall (travelling a speed of 120km/hr) and the second fall was~160m (i.e. 80%) and the third was ~120m. The worst part of the experience (other than the jump itself) was that when it was over, you had to hang there for a few minutes before being rescued by a man on a cable. Once my feet landed back on the bridge, I was greeted by cheers and high fives! The workers were so great...they were really supportive and did an excellent job of distracting you the entire time leading up to the jump.

Next up was Jeremy! I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that Jeremy would jump on the first shot. Within minutes, he was completely strapped in and was inching towards the edge. The workers started their countdown, “Five-Four-Three-Two-One-BUNGEE` and before you knew it, Jeremy was over the edge making his first of three falls. Jeremy felt the same way that I did...only I truly think if given another chance, he would be first in line but this time, he would be stepping it up and jumping backwards (crazy-crazy-crazy!!!). We headed to the gift shop and bought 2 T-Shirts, our DVD`s and our Pics because after all...we need proof to show our loved ones back home that we actually did it!!!