I Can Fly!

I don't really recall the first time that I decided that I wanted to go bungee jumping someday, but at some point when I was just a child, the idea of dangling and bouncing upside down from a stretchy cord appealed to me. Long before I knew I was coming to New Zealand, I shared my intentions of bungee jumping someday with my family. My mother, who had gone parachuting out of a plane before figured that she couldn't deny me of my desires to bungee jump and my father is only amused and interested in any extreme sport or activity. However, with every risky situation, my older brother always entertains himself in making an effort to terrorize me of the the dangers that could occur. For the longest time I had a major fear of tornados. Everytime a storm with high winds blew through town, my brother tormented me with my fear by either claiming to see a tornado or making observational comments like, "Doesn't the sky turn that color right before a tornado forms?" Naturally, when I brought up my idea of bungee jumping he knew it was his job to find a way to terrify me. After his report on the danger in bungee jumping, I had this horrible image in my head of the slack of the bungee coiling around my neck on the bounce up only to strangle me as the slack tightens on the way down. What a calming picture!

Several years later, I was reminded of this desire that I once had when hearing from a friend of mine who travelled to New Zealand last Spring and was telling me his thrilling story of doing the Nevis Bungee Jump. After watching his video, I instantly knew that there was absolutely no way I was not doing this jump! The Nevis Bungee in Queenstown is one of the highest jumps in the world, (134 meters/ 440 feet--highest in New Zealand) so I decided that if I was ever going to pursue my dream of jumping, THIS was the time and the place! New Zealand has other various bungee jumps across the country, (so far I have seen at least four or five other locations) so it is clear that this activity is a popular attraction and something that should be on the MUST DO list when travelling here. A.J. Hackett (the owner of many of the jump sites) introduced bungee jumping to New Zealand in the late 1980's and it immediately became a major hit considering that the mountainous landscapes of New Zealand provided a perfect playground for these extreme jumps. Because of its long history and popularity here, all of the jumps include the most modern equipment that make the jump safer and more comfortable.

The morning of the jump, April 14th was finally here. Scrambling down from the pod bed on top of our camper van I was wide awake and anxious to go! I had talked about this bungee jump to all my friends and family for the past year and it was always the first thing I blabbed on about when asked what I was going to do in New Zealand. My parents were fully aware of my intentions to jump and excited to hear about it after they knew I was still alive. As my brother teased me when I was little, I found it entertaining to stir up the stress in my mother, who although I knew was mostly comfortable with the event, couldn't help but worry a little (it's a mother thing I guess.) Likewise I couldn't help but be the evil daughter that I am and tell her the date I would be jumping right after she specifically requested that I not tell her until after the jump. I hopped on the bus that day completely fearless as we were lugged to the top of the canyon. Once in our harnesses we glided across the canyon in a small cart on cables that dropped us off in the giant gondella hanging in the middle of the canyon. With plenty of time to look down into the abyss of open air where I would soon be flying, I became suddenly giddy and impatient. No fears or concerns possessed me and I started to wonder if my nerves would eventually kick in once I was standing on the edge. My time came and as I hobbled to the plank, I still felt at ease, but about to burst from the overload of excitement boiling up in me.

Toes barely edging off the end of the plank, heart thundering to a summer storm, I made a quick peek down as if to see where I would land. With a shot of anticipation, after all the waiting I had gone through for this moment, I almost took the dive before instructed to. Pausing for an instant, I inhaled deeply, allowing background sounds to be conquered by adrenaline and excitement, and listened only for the words “3…2…1…BUNGEE!” Like a robot, I obeyed the command with legs that were programmed to bend and spring off the platform at the sound of this word. I cannot forget that first moment when I could no longer sense any physical connection to the earth and I seemed to hover gracefully for one eternal second of release before plummeting toward the river below. Although gravity frantically reeled me in like a bold, unlucky fish that got itself into a snag, it had no idea that I had it fooled (hopefully). Gravity thought it was about to take me to my end, but right before I shattered upon its threatening fist, the bungee caught, slurped me up for a moment, and as if to tease gravity, sent me diving down again. I felt like a lightning bolt bursting with energy that could not be controlled. Then a sudden calm came over me as if this release had refreshed me and all I wanted to do was breathe in this incredible feeling. Briefly becoming a little disoriented and dizzy from a rush of blood flooding to my head, I gave a few tugs to the latch that would detach my feet until it flipped me upright. While I dangled in open air, I could not believe the jump of my life was over as it repeatedly flashed through my memory. I gazed off at the absolute tranquility of the lush world around me, yet soaked in the all ecstasy that this occasion had brought to me.