The drive itself was really fun and gorgeous beyond all belief. We got to see almost all of the Garden Route, which is basically the South African equivalent of Route 66. The drive takes you all along the southern coast of Africa through the wine lands, mountains, desert, coastline, and eventually forest, our final destination.
We could tell we were getting close to the bridge because, well for one my phone has a GPS, but more importantly, we started to go over larger and larger bridges with HUGE gorges below them. It all started with about a 400 ft tall bridge and we began to freak out that it was the one we had to jump off of. Then, we crossed yet another even higher one and got even more scared. Finally, we arrived at Bloukrans Bridge and I think it is safe to say we were both scared out of our minds. Okay, maybe I was a little more afraid..
This is Bloukrans Bridge. It's the tallest bridge in South Africa and the third tallest in the world. They also have a huge Guinness World Record certificate near the jump site, proving that it is the tallest bungy jump in the world, too. Oh joy!
When we first arrived we practically ran to the viewing balcony and stared at the bridge for a good 10 minutes in disbelief. Did we seriously just drive 7 hours for this? There was absolutely no backing down.
Instead of sticking around and starting at the bridge in fear we decided to just man up, pay the cost and do it already. Within 10 minutes we had paid, gotten into our harnesses, listened to the most condensed safety briefing of all time (that's beginning to become a theme in South Africa) and were headed out to the jump site.
The walk out was probably one of the scariest parts of the entire experience. The floor of the walkway is chain metal-ish and didn't feel the slightest bit sturdy. Not to mention, Wyatt and I were stuck behind a really scared girl who was walking slower than most people crawl.
Here's a zoomed in picture of the jump site in the middle of the bridge.
As soon as we got out to the site we were greeted with booming techno and about 10 guys with the biggest smiles I've ever seen. I felt like I was in a filming for a Backstreet Boys music video more than doing one of the most extreme experiences the world has to offer. Wyatt was freaking out that they wouldn't be able to jam to music, dance all over the place, and tie the perfect knot to keep us alive, and I can't say I blame him. All in all, I think the relaxed vibe out on the bridge actually did help us to keep our cool a little better, if anything because we were joking at how ridiculous it was.
One of the Jonas Brothers read our weight aloud (thanks a lot, dude) and put us in order according to which bungy cords they would use. Go figure, the girl that could barely walk out there was up first. She was actually a trooper about it, got all tied up, and jumped! Seeing someone else go really got me into panic mode and I was clinging to Wyatt's arm like a 5 year old being dropped off at their first day of school. After everyone else in the group had gone they saved the best two for last!
Wyatt was up before me and by the looks of this picture was beginning to have second thoughts! Just kidding, he was actually super brave and even had a dance party with the guys about to push him off.
They blared music the entire time, so even while we were getting strapped in it was difficult to hear what the guys were saying. You know you're good at your job when you can blast Enrique Iglesias and still manage to tie someone up to jump off the tallest bridge in Africa.
We both agreed that this was by far the scariest part of the whole experience.
Here's the view from the jump platform. It's so insanely gorgeous!
Two guys stand on either side of you, have you hold your arms out in a T in front of them, yell "3, 2, 1, BUNGY" and give you a little push. AHHHH!
The view as you're falling is absolutely amazing!
After his jump. Like a pro!
I was up after Wyatt and starting to get really, really, really nervous. We're talking 710 feet here.
I kept repeating to myself "breathe Amanda, breath."
I guess it worked because I DID IT!
All I could think about in the air was how gorgeous the ground below me was. I wasn't even the slightest bit scared once I left the platform. Now I'm just insanely jealous of birds.
Once you're done bouncing all over the place, a guy rides all the way down the bungy cord, attaches some straps to you, and brings you back up. We had a nice little chat and enjoyed beautiful views of the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other.
After being brought back up I was practically attacked by about 15 of the guys working there, had the straps removed, and ran to hug Wyatt and celebrate SURVIVING!
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