Sailing Across the Pacific Ocean 2013 (Part 31) - Queenstown Skydiving & Bungy
As I said, I booked all this crazy crap right away to get it over with. Today's reckless activity was doing New Zealand's highest bungee jump: Nevis. They offer a few 40 meter jumps off bridges, but the highest was a whopping 134 meter jump into a canyon from an aluminum egg suspended in the air by a few rickety steel cables.
The fear I experienced today has no equal. Skydiving yesterday comes nowhere near the absolute terror I felt at this jump. It was just so...incredibly...high.
The bus ride today was a good one hour of tormenting anticipation. We got to drive by one of their 40 meter bridge jumps, which appeared frighteningly high themselves. The Nevis jump is almost three and a half times as high!
Even the bus ride had its scary moments as we teetered on the edge of death.
After signing us in and securing the harnesses, we made the walk down death row toward the trolley. The blood-wrenching screams (from current jumpers) that we heard during the walk did not help our nerves.
The jumping platform came into view shortly after boarding the air-trolley.
It was just so...damn...high.
The trolley came to a horrifying stop as it slammed into the side of the jumping room.
They blasted some pump-up music as they strapped our feet in and prepared to jump. When my name was called, my heart sank to my stomach, packed its bags, said "f@&$ this Shaun, you're on your own this time", and left through my belly button to ride the trolley back.
Helping the previous jumper back in...
"Okay buddy, you're up"
I think it was at this point, as I shuffled over to the platform that my legs began to shake uncontrollably. I usually handle fear pretty well and have never felt my legs shake like this before.
I achieved a whole new level of fear this day. Looking back, I have no idea how I made the jump. Fear in its purest form...
Here I am just as my feet left the platform. You can see how much fun I am having.
It was a full 8 seconds of crippling terror before the bungee came tight and all the blood in my body was suddenly in my head.
That wonderful moment when you realize the bungee did not break...
Before coming back up, you had to reach up and pull a snap-shackle to invert yourself so you don't come back into the jumping room upside-down.
Pure joy as I am pulled back up and realize how beautiful the world is.
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