It was THE day. The day I would conquer my fears and jump off a bridge. If I were ever going to do it, it would be here at the Kawarau Bridge Bungy, the birthplace of bungee jumping. (Also, if you’re a Lord of the Rings/Hobbits fan, it’s over the river where the hobbits white-water barreled downstream.)
We checked in with the front desk, got weighed for the first time, and were marked as #92 and #93 jumpers of the day. We went out to the viewing area to watch other thrill seekers take the 43m plunge. There were many styles of jumpers, some screaming in joy, others screaming in fear. I didn’t know which style I was going to be, but my only wishes were to keep my eyes open and not to cry. The observation deck had a bar aptly named “Liquid Courage”. We each had a beer, but we ended up waiting long enough that the tiny buzz wore off anyway.
I wasn’t feeling nervous until we were actually on the bridge, walking towards the jumping platform. Each step elevated my heart rate a few notches. We were weighed again at the platform, and then it was time to get tied in. The staff informed me that “unfortunately” I was too light to touch the water. Oh shoot, what a “disappointment”. Sam was all too happy to get wet though, and asked for as much water as he could get.
I decided that I would go first because I wasn’t sure I would be brave enough to jump if I was left up on the bridge alone. A towel was wrapped around my ankles, then secured with ropes twice (the primary and safety lines). Ta-da… I was clipped in. As I shuffled towards the plank, my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. “Why am I doing this? I can’t believe I’m doing this… It’s okay, it’s just like the quick descent for rock climbing…” Honestly, I couldn’t really hear my thoughts over the thundering of my heart.
At the edge now, I heard the staff say “Smile for the cameras!” and managed to squeeze out what I hoped was a natural enough smile. He then said something along the lines of don’t think about it, the longer you stay here, the scarier it gets. I forced my mind to go blank. Then I heard “Deep breath, 1, 2, 3!” I opened my arms, let my body fall forward, and gravity took over.
There was quite a crowd on the observation deck and I heard people cheering and clapping for me as I jumped. The two seconds of free fall was terrifying. Seeing the river rushing towards me, I instinctively pushed my hands forward as if that would slow down my fall. Then the bungee caught and the world spun around and around. I felt faint and dizzy as I was tossed around like a rag doll. The raft guys handed me the pole and guided me down into the raft. They asked me how it went, but all I could do was laugh and shake uncontrollably as adrenaline pumped through my veins. After seeing the pictures, I would say I looked like I enjoyed it a lot more than I felt.
I sat by the river to wait for Sam’s jump. Truth be told, my legs were shaking so much I couldn’t have walked back up to the observation deck if I wanted to. I watched him wave his ear-to-ear grin at the cameras and dove off the platform. A couple of seconds later, he was waist deep in the river! He had that huge smile on his face during the entire jump.
Bucket list – check! We did it!
As the adrenaline rush abated, we finally realized we were both starving. We didn’t dare eating lunch before the jump and it was already mid-afternoon. We headed back to Queenstown and celebrated our initial bungee experience with massive hamburgers from Fergburger, advertised as the best burger joint in the world. I’m no burger connoisseur, but it satiated our hunger perfectly. I wish I had taken a photo of the burger, but I was too busy inhaling it to remember.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around beautiful downtown Queenstown and did some souvenir shopping. Despite its fame as the adventure capital of the world, Queenstown is actually quite a small town nestled between the mountains and the Lake Wakatipu.
Our hotel was a spa resort on top of a hill surrounding downtown. Our room was very spacious with a ridiculously luxurious bathroom. We had a late dinner at the resort restaurant, which had a gorgeous sunset view over the mountains. It was the perfect way to unwind after the thrilling day we had.
I’m not sure I will ever bungee again, but I’m so glad I did it. Many have told me they were surprised that I actually did because I’m normally a very “physically conservative” person. Remember I had been telling people for almost a year that I was going to bungee and skydive?. At least I completed half of the goal! It was an unforgettable experience and will always be a bragging point.
A proud and satisfying day.
C.
P.S.
I know I’ve been saying the drive from place to place was beautiful pretty much every day, but the drive from Milford Sound to Queenstown was truly breathtaking. A part of the drive was along the edge of a massive lake. I can try to describe it with words, but a picture is a worth a thousand of those. By the way, did you know New Zealand in the native Maori is called Aotearoa, which translates to “Land of the Long White Cloud”. I think you can see why.
The restrooms at the bungee place had signs like these. I had a good chuckle about them.
Pingback: New Zealand – The Drive, The Seasons, The Adrenaline – Claire the Explorer