The day I threw myself off a bridge

Before I came to New Zealand, bungy jumping was on my list of things to do; on Friday I did just that. I willingly threw myself off a bridge. What an experience it was! Let me tell you about it.

My bungy jumping destination was Queenstown which holds the original bungy over the Kawarau River. Knowing that my time in Queenstown was coming to an end, I knew the time was coming to make the leap of faith. Even though the falling distance is shorter in the bungy, I was more nervous about bungy jumping than skydiving. When skydiving, you are attached to your tandem master and when the time to jump comes you are pushed out. As you are sitting on the edge of the plane, you don’t even have time to comprehend what is happening before you are free falling through the air. Bungy jumping, on the other hand, is a different story. You are the one that has to make the jump. Watching videos of people jumping was enough to make my heart beat faster. It’s one thing to just watch videos of this, and another thing to know that you will actually be doing it yourself.

Rather than booking my jump days in advance, I made a rash decision the day of. I made the reservation and within 30 minutes I was headed into town to check in. After checking in, there was a bit of a wait before the bus arrived. During that time, I sat and watched people jumping. At this point, I was actually quite calm. Seeing the videos reassured me that this was something people did everyday. Perfectly normal right? The bus arrived. Also boarding the bus was an 80 year old man, who also intended to make the jump. On his birthday a few days ago, he had gone skydiving and now he was going bungy jumping for free. It was a reminder to all of us on the bus; if you he could do it, we could do it. We had 25 minutes to contemplate our sanity before we arrived at the bridge.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Greg, who gave us a few instructions. Although nervous, there was a smile on my face. I had to check in again on site. I stepped on the scale which would indicate which bungy cord I would use.  And then the time came in which I signed my life away should anything happen. Oh dear, what was I doing?! After emptying my nervous bladder, I went to the lookout and watched a couple people jump before going on the bridge myself. I stood in line and watched as those ahead of me got strapped up and made the jump. I was given a harness to put around my waist; a second safety measure. My thoughts and emotions were at an all time high. Nerves had intensified but there were also lulls of calmness. I had already paid and I was going to make the jump. Finally my turn came. I was seated on a wooden floor with my knees up and a kind man got me strapped up. A soft towel was wrapped tightly around my ankles followed by a few straps. I was asked if I wanted to be dipped in the water. Although I wasn’t extremely keen on getting wet, I thought I may as well give it a try. From what I heard from others, getting wet wasn’t a guarantee. So I thought I would take a chance. If I got wet, great but if not I would be fine as well. Sitting across from me was the 80 year old man. I watched as he successfully made the jump. With a big nervous smile plastered on my face, it was time to walk the plank and make the leap of faith. With one hop and a few waddles, I made my way to the edge. I looked at the water below before looking to the left where a photographer took my picture. As I stood on the edge, I felt like I was going to pee my pants, which I declared to the staff member assisting me. My last words before I jumped were, “Oh my goodness! What am I doing?!” followed by “I feel like I have to pee my pants!” Then I finally mustered up the courage to jump. 3-2-1-bungy! No going back. My body then succumbed to gravity and I was free falling quickly towards the water below me screaming like a little girl. The free fall felt so long, yet so short at the same time. The water got closer and closer and within seconds I was immersed from my waist up. I didn’t even have time to realize what was happening before I was instantly yanked out of the water. Several times I was bounced up and down before the guys in the raft below extended a pole which I grabbed on to and was lowered into the raft and taken to the river bank. I walked up to the path to main building, passing the old man along the way and asking how his jump was. I went to the counter where I received my free t-shirt and purchased pictures of my jump. Although slightly expensive, I caved for this once in a life time experience. Although I didn’t buy it, I was able to watch the video of my jump.  After waiting for a bit, watching others jump, the bus arrived and took us back to town.

So now the question is: Would you rather skydive or bungy jump? Tough question my friends. I loved them both but for different reasons. Skydiving was great because you are jumping out of a plane and have the freefall experience but once the parachute goes up, you can enjoy the view on the way down. Bungy jumping, although shorter, gave me a greater sense of accomplishment because I was the one that actually had to make the jump. Were they not so expensive, I would definitely do both of them again in an instant. So the answer to the question…I’m not going to answer J

With my ticket, all ready to go.

A nervous wave before the jump