Nobody could decide what to eat, how much to eat, or if we should even eat anything at all. We all decided that a tiny something would be a good idea, but no one had much. The guys got ready and went to find something to eat. I finished getting ready and met them at the shop/check-in. We wasted time there online or browsing the store because we didn't want to spend too much time sitting idly thinking about what we were about to do. It was just me and the guys bungy jumping this morning (Sophie and Hayley were going to join us to jump at the 2nd site), but Poppy and 2 of the other guys came along to watch. This first site is called the Kawarau Bridge. It is a 43 metre bungy over a river that you have the option of touching or being dunked as far as you want. It is the first commercial bungy site in the world. After everyone was checked-in, weighed, had their numbers, etc and had wasted as much time as possible we all headed to the beanbags and projection screen to watch bungy videos on the screen and relax a bit before the shuttle showed up. We all got to chatting and a couple of the guys commented on how calm I was and I told them it was pretty much just mind over matter for me really. I tried to think about little to nothing and certainly not the bungy jumping and if I did I just told myself it was safe and no big deal.
The shuttle arrived and the ride was somewhat quiet. I could tell on some of the boys' faces that they were freaking out a bit, plus they had admitted to it earlier. Again one of the guys commented on my composure and I told them how I was staying calm. We got to the place, unloaded, and checked in again. They told us to drop our stuff outside in the watching area (or put it in lockers) and head to the bridge. They were trying to get through us quickly because we had to finished in time to get on the shuttle to the second bungy site. We dropped our stuff, had a quick chat with our friends who were just watching, and headed to the bridge.
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| The jumpers! (To put faces with names: L to R - Jim, Dan (England), Matt, Me, Dan (Essex), and Calvin) |
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| View facing out from the bridge (as I was keeping myself from freaking out) |
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| View behind the bridge (as I was plummeting towards the water) |
We expected some kind of safety speech or instructions but we walked on the bridge and they just started throwing harnesses on us. We hit the bridge and I turned into an energizer bunny on chatterbox mode. I couldn't stop moving, shouting, talking, laughing, etc. The harness guy nicknamed me the Crazy American. With my friends on the bridge we watched and encouraged our other friends going. Matt went, then Jim, then a a random or two, a girl from our bus, another random, and next thing I knew I was up next. Once I realized this I went silent and still.
The guys called me down onto the platform you jump from and I went in and then apparently (gathered from the video) started asking a million questions. All I really remember is watching them wrap a towel around my ankles and secure it with something made of what looked like seat belt material. No matter how hard I tried to tell myself they do this all the time... I couldn't help but think about how old school and unsafe this seemed... I also remember a quick, "Arms up and head tucked with chin to chest" and them saying something about just putting your toes over the edge and rolling forward. When they asked about dunking depth I told them I wanted to go in to my ankles. They questioned my certainty on that, but I told them the boys said I had to and that I figured once you're in, what does it matter how deep you go. They said okay and I was up and on the edge before I knew it. Waddling out I made sure to look only at the cameras and straight ahead. A few pictures were snapped and then after "3, 2, 1" I tilted and rolled my feet as they said and he let go and I was gone. The thing is, once you roll your feet past a certain point (which isn't very far) there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop yourself from going. They also say that if you hesitate you are way less likely to ever actual go and I refused to let that happen. I'm not sure exactly what was going through my head, but if there was anything it was probably something along the lines of, "If you don't do this you will regret it forever. It will be an experience of a lifetime that will blow your mind. This is safe. They do this a hundred times a day. Just don't think and go for it."
I screamed about 3/4 of the way down not seeing or processing anything. The water came before I knew it and I only went in to right below my nose (arms overhead). By the time I bounced up for the first time I was able to look around me at the beautiful scenery, process what I had just done and was still doing, and then my screams went from "Holy crap what am I doing I hope I don't die?!!!?" to "Oh my gosh this is freaking amazing!!!!" (as heard in the video). I just bounced up and down looking at the river, blue skies, and mountains around me wondering why I was ever nervous in the first place. At some point I had to tuck my chin to my chest and try to lift my head a bit because I was upside down for longer than was comfortable and my head felt a bit like it was going to pop with all the blood rushing to it. The guys in the boat handed me a long pole and pulled me in as I held on to it. They told me to look at my feet and I hit the boat with a quite hard thud. They unstrapped me and I got off, but not before they told me that they could wash my shirt on their abs. Ha! Boys!
I waited on the platform/stairs to watch Calvin jump, then we walked up the hill/stairs together. Once Dan and Dan jumped we all headed inside to get our photos and videos and get ready for the shuttle. We were all overly chatty until we got outside to wait for the shuttle and have a small bite to eat (someone shared an apple with me) because once again we didn't want to jump on an empty stomach, but we didn't want to jump on a full stomach either. A few of us (Dan in particular because he did a lot of spinning on his bungy) were feeling a bit strange, which we all decided was our bodies coming down from the adrenaline, but at the same time being nervous about the next bungy. The shuttle to town came and Lewis, Max, and Poppy left us because it cost $50 each for them to watch at the Nevis Bungy. Then the shuttle to the Nevis came where we met up with Hayley and Sophie. Once we got on the shuttle we got chatty again, sharing our bungy stories and photos with the girls. Once the hype was over... we went quiet again. Everyone was trying really hard not to think about the next bungy.
The 2nd site, the one we were headed to, is the Nevis Bungy at a 134 metres. The girls had mentioned they were extremely nervous and the guys and I were saying there was no way we could do the Nevis without having done the Bridge first. At this point I was nervous. In fact, dare I say I was excited... The girls commented on my composure (once again) and once again I told them it was mind over matter. We arrived, got harnessed, got weighed, put our stuff in lockers, and headed out to a watching platform. This was all done without a lot of talking among us. We watched a couple people jump, we got a safety briefing (like what we expected at the first site), and then watched a few of the boys head across in the cable car. At this point, I'll admit, I had to sit down. My mind was reeling with thoughts but at the same time I felt like I wasn't and couldn't think about anything. Hayley followed suit and it was at this point that she said she wasn't going to do it. We told her she at least had to go across before she made that decision.
We got on the cable car, which had a grated floor and open sides so you could see just how high you were and feel as unsafe as possible. Hayley really didn't want to go on the cable car, but we wanted her to make an as informed decision as possible so we told her she had to go. She went, but only with her eyes closed, head on my shoulder, and my arms around her. She really wasn't handling it well. The rest of us tried to talk about anything other than what we were doing. I was trying to focus on the scenery rather than the height. We got across, unloaded, and then sat on the wall/seat to wait for the rest of our gear. Hayley still wasn't doing so well. The boys were all lined up along the side of the platform watching everyone go. A couple of the boys went (the order is heaviest to lightest) and while they were going we were cheering them on and still waiting. This wall/seat thing and the floor of the station/platform have clear plastic/glass sections where you can see down to the valley. The back wall is also clear/mesh so you can see out. I used taking pictures and Hayley as distractions because when the guy came to Hayley to put her ankle straps on she pulled her feet up and said, "no". He asked her if she was sure, and with tears in her eyes she said yeah, that she wasn't doing it. No one else saw this but me since I was next to her. It wasn't until all of the boys had taken their turn that they realized she was in tears and wasn't going. We all took some time out to make sure she was certain of her decision, try to talk her out of her decision, encourage her, etc, but from the moment she said no to the ankle straps I knew there was no going back. She was able to pull herself together long enough to watch everyone still go and enjoy it as best she could. All the guys had gone, so it was on to the girls. Sophie went and it was about half way through her turn that I realized that since Hayley had pulled out, that I was next. All emotion was gone from my face, all thoughts were out of my head but at the same time my head was reeling, and I was silent.
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| Grated cable car floor |
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| Cable car dangling over the valley |
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| Waiting my turn with Matt and Sophie |
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| My turn... |
A couple of the guys came over to encourage me and give me hugs and then headed back to their line along the side so they could watch. Sophie came up and she was smiling and going on about how amazing it was and told me I'd do fine. I walked through the gate, sat in the chair, and stared at nothing while repeating to myself, "3, 2, 1, go", "3, 2, 1, go", "3, 2, 1, go". Dan (Essex) blew me a kiss and I blew him one back (on video) and Sophie was right in front of me encouraging me. Once again I felt like I was thinking about everything and nothing all at the same time. When the guy connected my bungy cord another cord went over my foot release pull and and I moved the cord as if that was going to alter whether or not I lived through this. The guy said, "Let's go Tiny Dancer" and I was up and on the edge. I could hear my friends behind me cheering as I looked straight ahead at the side of the mountain. The guy said, "A little weight on your feet", as he dropped the thing and it startled me a bit, but I couldn't let it pull me out of my focus (or lack there of). Another picture and then, "5, 4, 3, 2, 1", I rolled my feet as before, past that point of no return, and once again, I was gone.
I screamed about half way down and even moved my arms in a flapping motion like that was going to stop me. At about the half way mark though I realized once again just what an experience I was in the middle of. I had beautiful scenery of a river, rocks, mountain, blue skies, trees, bushes, etc (even upside down New Zealand is beautiful). I was plummeting at crazy speeds only secured by my ankles and some elastic. It was breathtaking, both figuratively and literally. I couldn't believe I had really made it over the edge. After my second bounce up I pulled up towards my feet and hoped with everything in me that this foot release worked because being upside down for that long could easily and quickly ruin the experience. I was honestly more concerned about the foot release working than jumping. Luckily it worked on the first go and I was now upright, comfortably seated in my harness, looking at everything around me. I was able to process the height, the scenery, the accomplishment, and just absorb it all. I made it to the top to all my friends excited for me and asking how it was. All I could think was that I wanted to do it again.
We all got ungeared and headed back over in the cable car - most of the boys went first, then the rest of us. At the main station we got deharnessed met them over at the Nevis Swing - the biggest swing in the world - to watch the guys and take photos for them. By this point Hayley was cleaned up from the tears and smiling and enjoying the time with everyone. After the Swing we all got our photos and videos while we waited for the shuttle. When I pulled up my video and watched it I'll have to admit that I got teary eyed. I was unbelievably proud of myself for doing something so daring and what many who know me have said was so unlike me. On the shuttle everyone was talking nonstop about the bungys, except for Hayley, who I noticed was quiet in her window seat. I then noticed her wipe her cheek and I knew what that meant. From what I know, no one else noticed, or they all did but were doing exactly what I was, which was nothing, because I didn't want to draw attention to her if she didn't want it. However, I so badly wished I was sitting next to her so I could put my arm around her, talk with her about it, or anything else to help her.
We got to the hostel and I'm not sure where the boys went but us girls went up the room where Hayley just crawled in bed and said she wouldn't be joining us for dinner. Sophie and I took this opportunity to talk with Hayley about what she was really feeling. She admitted that she was seriously disappointed in herself, she was mad that she wasted a good chunk of money (which is a big deal when you're a backpacker), and it was hard listening to everyone you love talk so excitedly about a memory and experience that everyone but you now shares because you "bottled it" (my friends from England used this phrase which has the same meaning as "chickened out"). We confirmed her feelings, but also encouraged her and made sure she knew none of us thought any differently of her. The guys came back and when they realized she wasn't going to dinner we all tried to encourage her to come. She didn't give in, but when we told her she at least had to come out with us afterwards she agreed since it would be her last night with the whole group and she would regret passing that up. Once the guys were there we all started talking about the bungy. Given Hayley's feelings we probably shouldn't have talked about it, but it's hard when we've all just had this amazing, first in our lives experience. She got out of bed, put on her shoes, and left without a word. Sophie and I shared a bit with the guys where Hayley was mentally and emotionally right now just so they could be sensitive about it.
Hayley came back in and told us she went down to reception to see the booking people to see if she could jump again or at a different site for a discounted price. The lady told her to go to the main store/station just up the street. Hayley said she was going to go do this while we went to dinner and she would meet us back in the room. We all apologized for talking about the bungys but she told us we didn't have to apologize and that she understood completely, but that she just needed some time. She left for the bungy booking place and we left for dinner at Fergburger!! The best burgers on the planet!! They are big (the size of my face) and juicy and expensive - the meal cost me $18, which is a lot for a backpacker - but they are so very worth it!! We got our orders and carried it all down to the beach. We sat, chatted, ate, and watched the sun set behind the mountains across the water. The day and the moment felt unreal.
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| The line is always out the door and around the corner |
After dinner we all headed back to the room to find Hayley back from booking. They didn't give her a very good discount because when you purchase a bungy they make sure you know it is nonrefundable and nontransferable, but it was better than nothing. She was scheduled to jump the following morning at the Bridge. Sophie (and I think a couple of the guys) planned to go with her. All was good and mostly back to normal and it was time to get ready for our last night out as our full group of 13.
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