Bungyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I went bungy jumping last week, and it is one of the top five best things I have ever done.

When I arrived in Queenstown I knew I was going to go bungy jumping. Aj Hackett invented bungy jumping in Queenstown in 1988, and the home of the bungy is still the best place to do it if you ask any Kiwi. There were so many options of locations and types of jumps that it was a little overwhelming at a certain point. So I did what I thought was simplest and best: the Kawarau Bridge jump, the bridge where the first bungy was done. I wanted it to be simple, clean, and just like the first jumpers.

This jump was 43 meters high, just above 140 ft. Big, but nothing insane like some of the other options that had you plunging over 400 ft. But as the nice reception lady said at our lodge, the Kawaru Bridge is thought to be better than the deepest jumps because in those jumps it's just a giant canyon and there is no perspective. My jump was right over a river and closed on two sides so you really felt like you were jumping off something high up.

I arrived at the jumping location a little nervous, but I get nervous for everything so I knew it was normal. My mother on the other hand was a complete wreck. It didn't help that when we arrived the crew was on a break so I had to wait another half hour (we got there pretty early too) before I jumped. But I got ready to go, weighed in, and signed away my life in case something were to snap. But while waiting came that moment where for me the nervousness goes away and I get so excited that I just can't wait any more to get out there and do whatever life-risking activity awaits. I was pumped and ready to go and getting so antsy I just wanted to jump off of something.

Finally it was time to go (last words from mom: "Don't die." Thanks mom.) I got into my harness and they tied a bunch of cords around my legs and a towel. I lost track of what they were doing but trusted whatever it is (this company has had one "incident" since 1988, just one). I then had to waddle my way to the edge and smile for their cameras and wave to my mom. I took one quick peak over the ledge....and whoaaaaaa that's really high. Ok back to concentrating on what the dude is saying so I don't die. Once you get to the edge and do your smiling they count down from three and you're gone. No waiting around or saying you can't do it. Once you're up there and they count down they will push you off that ledge if you do not move. So I jumped.

I will never be able to come up with the words to aptly describe that feeling you get for the first second as you're jumping off the bridge and falling towards the ground. Clearly it's like nothing you've ever experienced before, but all those times you've thought what it would actually be like jumping off a bridge are now becoming reality. You're worried at first because instinct goes "Holy shit I'm falling off a bridge" and it takes a moment for your brain to remind yourself that you're attached to something. It's just absolute freedom like falling from the sky (but it's distinctly different from skydiving). I can best sum up my thought process like so: whoaaaaaaaaaomgomgomgomgomgomahhhhhhhhhhhholllllyyyyyyyyyyshitttttttttahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee this is fun.

Once you've hit the end you can feel the tug on your legs as the bungy pulls you back up and you boing, boing, boing. Finally I got pulled into the raft they had waiting for you at the bottom on the river, and I could not have had a bigger smile on my face. I was ecstatic. I ran all the way back up to the top where my mom was waiting wanting to jump again a million times. But I knew i couldn't so I didn't spoil the moment. It was too amazing, and I wanted to let it all sink in again and again. Luckily for me they have bungy jumping in Auckland, my last stop before I leave NZ. I think I've got a going away present to myself in mind.