Cape Town, South Africa: Bungee Jumping!

So this weekend was a long weekend for Women’s Day so 8 friends and I decided to do the Garden Route. Of course, one cannot travel along the Garden Route without stopping in Plettenberg Bay and jumping off the highest bungee jump in the world! In case you didn’t know, I am deathly afraid of heights so this was not the most exciting thing for me. However, I still felt the need to conquer this fear. After all, you probably only get one chance to jump off the highest bungee bridge in the world, so I had to take it.

Sunday morning was the fateful day. We lucked out with the weather—not a cloud in the sky. Once we arrived and I saw the bridge we were jumping off of I deeply considered sprinting off in the opposite direction and hiding out until everyone else had jumped. Alas, I stuck my ground, bought my ticket, and got into my harness. To get to the platform where you jump, everyone has to hike across this long, extremely thin, metal-grated bridge so next thing I know I’m walking across the scariest bridge I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

The bridge is the same height as the jump (so 216 meters, which translates to about 710 feet) and because the bottom is grated, I could see everything I was about to jump into. Everything that I was about to jump into = a huge canyon forest. Needless to say I started crying immediately.

Once our group got to the jumping platform, the DJs started playing techno, which finally distracted me and made me stop crying. Then, before I know it, the first girl is getting ready to jump. They bring her to the edge, count down from 5, tell her to go, and she’s gone!! I’ve never seen such a strange sight, but it did make me feel a lot better because she was raving about the experience once they pulled her up to the platform.

Soon enough it’s my turn (I’m second to last in the lineup), and again, I’m crying. My friend Emily was sitting next to me and she asked me a question: “Do you believe in God?” I said yes and she told me that God had created all the beauty around us and that we were going to jump into it. And while we did, He would be holding us all the way. The way she put it made me feel so lucky that I could experience His work so that gave me some courage to carry on. Next, they strap up my ankles in ropes and lead me to the edge of the platform. I honestly have never been so scared in my entire life. In my mind, jumping off a bridge equals suicide so I had no idea how I was going to bring myself to jump.

“5-4-3-2-1 Bungeeeeeeee!” My mind is blank and with a slight nudge from the workers, I just fall. I find myself soaring above the most gorgeous canyon I’ve ever seen. Okay, soaring is the nice way to put it—in reality, I was plummeting to my death. There were definitely some choice words coming out of the mouth of Erin Corr at that moment. But luckily the freefall only lasts about 5 seconds so there was really no time to truly freak out. Once I felt the tension of the rope, I knew I was safe and could “relax.”

The view of the green trees in the canyon and the river below me was all I could see and the sound of the waves and the ocean was all I could hear. It was the most serene and peaceful experience. An almost spiritual one. After about a minute of hanging head first, 300 ft. above the ground, I am rescued by one of the workers who holds me as we are pulled up to the top.

I’m sorry that post was so long, but that was definitely the most exciting, terrifying, and beautiful thing I’ve ever done so I felt the need to share all the gory details.

Love you guys.

The view of the canyon.