Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Woke up feeling nervous as this was the day me and Mike were doing the Kawarau Bridge Bungy jump! Phil and Ash came with us to watch. the four of us went to the bungee centre in the middle of the town to sign in then we had a short bus ride to the bungy site. It was on this bus journey I started to realize what I was about to do and the butterflies awoke. Got the bridge and as we queued up to get weighed they got worse, and i felt properly nervous! I hadn't had time to get nervous when we thought we were doing it the day before! By the time we were on the bridge waiting for our turn to jump I was scared. It seemed a lot higher, stood on that bridge, than it did when I had been looking across at it. I couldnt put my finger on why I was scared. It wasnt anything to do with safety, as I trusted it was completely safe. I wasn't worried about it throwing me around as people always say its really smooth. I think it was fear of the unknown, or that I wouldnt jump properly. I say I think, because all I know is I was very very nervous. The scenery was absolutley gorgeous, the river was a brilliant blue and the trees on the river bank were a really vibrant green. Didn't help at the time but looks great in the photos! When it was my turn to get strapped in and they sat me down i didnt think id be able to get back up! The guys were really nice though, I knew they saw i was scared as they were quick with the chats about where i was from, what id done the night before etc but i couldnt have told you how id replied! There were 2 things I was sure of before I jumped, 2 things I knew I wouldnt change my mind about no matter how scared I was, and i managed to stick to them both! the first, was that i knew i wanted to be dunked in the water. Its one of the few places you can do it and if i was going to do a bungee here, i wanted to go all out. It was the coldest day of our trip so far but i had promised myself! I think the guys were suprised when i had said yes when they asked me if i wanted to, not many people had that day and i looked so nervous! They were impresssed though and that made me a little more confident. it was short lasted though as when i got to the edge of the platform, legs tied up, nowhere left to go but down, it fully hit me what i was about to do. It doesnt seem right to jump of a bridge from 43 meters and my instincts were obviously shouting dont do it!! I told the guy i was scared and he told me if i wasnt, there would be something wrong with me. I knew he was right and then it was time to go! The second decision I knew i would stick to no matter what, was that when i heard the countdown, I would jump. I knew if it got to one and i hadnt jumped, it would be soo much harder. So even though i was more terrified then I even had been i knew what i had to do. Now, i think I zoned out for the next several seconds. In my head i had always heard the countdown as 3-2-1, then i would jump. It wasnt till i had done the jump people were saying how they were suprised i had jumped on "2". The countdown had apparently been 5-4-3-2-1 but after hearing the 3rd number it was, in my head, my cue to jump! Like I say, i had no idea about this until afterwards but i think it explains why i hated the jumping off bit. When I jumped, I felt a tug on the back of my harness. Im guessing its just that the guy hadnt let go yet, which im sure wasnt a problem but i wasnt expecting to feel that tug but when i did it scared the life out of me and my instinct was I shouldnt jumped. I hadnt planned to make any noise when i jumped, but i remeber shouting "Oh my god". I dont remember thinking about saying it but i couldnt stop myself! In my memory i shouted that as soon as i jumped but when i watched the video back i made the most terrified howling noise i have ever heard in my life before shouting oh my god. I dont remember doing it at all and cant believe it came out of my mouth! The feeling of falling was like nothing i have ever felt. In my head i always had imagined there would always be some sort of feeling of resistance but there was none at all and that free fall was terrifying. It was over in an instant though, thank god, and my moment of clarity came when i hit the water. As the fall wasnt at alll how i had imagined i hadnt had time to think about how i had to hit the water (arms infront, chin down) so basically smacked my face on the water, which didnt hurt till afterwards (still hurts now!) but being dunked under was actually really nice. not as cold as i thought it would feel but more refreshing. After i came out the water i loved it, the bouncing around was brilliant and i had a such a rush from it. Was so relieved when the lowered me into the boat, felt like i could lay there forever! The guys in the boat were lovely, said id done a good dive but ofcourse took the mick out of the scream i hadnt realized i had done! Had to get up and out the boat eventually and was in perfect time to watch mike jump, looked brilliant but was pleased to hear him also scream! When he met me he loved it and I was really happy to hear that. He'd got over his nerves until he'd seen how afraid i was so id felt bad. Went back inside, saw our videos and got our photos and t-shirts. the previous day i had booked the Thrilogy which was a combo-deal for the Kawarau Bridge Bungy, the Nevis Arc and the Nevis bungy, which is 134meters high and the highest in Australasia (and one of the highest in the world) compared to the 43meter one i had just done. I had underestimated how scary a bungee jump would be when i had booked the thrillogy and can honestly say if i hadnt already booked Nevis, I wouldn't have done after doing the bridge. I had already paid though so there was no going back so i let it escape my mind until i had to think about it. What i did manage to do, however, was convince Mike to book it! He had really loved the bungy, more than me, and i knew he would regret not doing it as i was. He took so persuding but Im writing this after having done Nevis and all I can say is, Mike owes me ;-) Went back to the hostle on the bus and heard the terrible news of the earthquake in Christchurch. It shook us all up and we knew it could have very easily been us caught up in it. We were at the bungy site when it happened but apparently people could feel it in Queenstown! Pretty scary. Phil went for a nap and me, Mike and Ash got some lunch. It was all over the TV's here so we watched the news and saw how devastating the damage was. We were worried for people we knew that had been travelling ahead of us, but as far as we know they are all ok now. A few people we knew were travelling to Christchurch the day of the quake but they were diverted to a nearby town and are staying there. Were so pleased when we'd heard from them! Christchurch is being shut off so the Kiwi bus is going straight to the next place, but stopping off at Christchurch airport to drop any one off who has a flight within the following 24 hours. 2 out of the 3 nights we were due in Christchurch we will now spend in Queenstown, its lovely here so we don't mind but it is a shame we didn't get to see Christchurch. We are just thankful we're safe and our thoughts are with those caught up in the quake. We will be spending one night at Christchurch airport which wont be fun, especially as the Kiwi bus gets in at 4pm and my check in is at 3pm the next day! Bad timing but I'll have to find a book or something. Got back to the hostle. washed my hair and we all got some sleep. We were really tired and obviously feeling sad, and my cold was getting worse. Was nice to know we had enough time in Queenstown to be able to chill out and not feel like we're wasting time! Mike, Ash and Phil went out to the supermarket and for an explore and I stayed in bed and caught up with lots of blogs. Called home once I knew my family would be up and let them know I was safe and what was happening here. Soon after that we all went to bed and got an early night :-)
- comments