My Bungy Jump Story!!!

At 216 meters (709 feet), the bungee jump off the Bloukrans Bridge just outside Storms River, South Africa is the highest commercially operated bungy bridge in the world.  So of course I had to do it.

After observing the facilities at Face Adrenalin (http://www.faceadrenalin.com/), the operators of the bungy jump at Bloukrans Bridge, I felt very safe and well taken care of.  Given their 100% safety record, it was just that – safe.  As I approached the jump site, some high adrenaline high volume music was blasting loud enough to distract you from what you were about to do.

I was “on deck” and did not have much time to think about what was before me. The safety placed padding around my ankles to protect my legs from rope burn. I took my place on the next seating where the safety showed me the six foot, three inch wide strap that would hold me on the end of the bungee rope. “ That was the only thing that was holding me, this was crazy!” I saw them attach another strap to my harness as a secondary safety, this made me feel slightly better. The safety directed me to stand up and helped me toward the edge. I whispered to him that I was really, really, really nervous. He smiled at me and said, “you should not be jumping if you were not nervous, don’t worry this will be great.” I took another deep breath as he and another safety helped me so my toes were just over the edge. I didn’t have time to look down and focused on the view and performing the jump. The safeties let go of me and yelled, “FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE, BUNGY!”  

I jumped as far out as I could with my arms raised. I have no idea if I closed my eyes or what happened those first few seconds. I think I held my breath for the six-second free fall. I felt the rope stop me at then end of the fall and thanked God that the small but strong strap held on to my ankles. I looked out over the canyon and river below. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful and was thankful I had the opportunity to see this part of the world upside down hanging from the tallest bridge in Africa.  I hung from the rope and wanted to scream but couldn't gather my voice...and after few secs I screamed as loud as i can and kept repeating to myself, “I did it; I can’t believe I did this”. As I was enjoying the view (yes still hanging upside down), I hear this voice "Hello Lady, how are you?". He was the person who would pull me up and he was trying to make me comfortable by chatting to me.

The jump was exhilarating and unbelievable. This was definitely a great experience and now when someone asks me if I would jump off a bridge, I can say, “yes”. If you are thinking about doing a bungy jump, my recommendations is just do it, trust the safeties and take a leap of faith. 

Three cheers for Bloukrans Bridge and Face Adrenaline for introducing me to the world of Bungy.