Bungee-Jumping!!!!

Hello All,

(EDITED NOTE: Thanks to Maya's wonderful instructions on embedding videos for dummies, I did successfully manage to have the videos right in the middle of the post. However, this seemed to upset the great god of templates, because the links on the side of the screen were shunted to the bottom of our (very long) blog. So, as I go along, I'll refer to the links on the side of the screen which correspond to that bit of the story. Check them out...)

I know we haven't been on here in awhile, and there are LOTS of stories to share, but I couldn't resist writing a short blog entry about one of the highlights of the drive home from Cape Town to Durban. On our second day of driving, we stopped at a place called Storm's River to check out the highest bungee jump in the world (according to the Guinness Book of World Records). It's set 216 m up off the ground on a bridge that spans a river that leads into the ocean. Once I heard it was the highest bungee jump in the world, I knew that I had to do it. I also knew that I couldn't let myself think about it too much, or else I might cop out. After waiting for a group of jumpers to assemble themselves, and waiting for the group of jumpers on the bridge to get off, we were finally set to go. I was hoping I'd get to go first, but I was relegated to second. I tried to avoid watching the first guy jump, but part of me couldn't stop peering down over the edge of the bridge to the river so many meters below. I was so high that it was impossible to get a sense of the distance. Next thing I know, my name is called! [See Installment #1]. So off I go to get tied in. [Installment #2]

The team wraps a couple of padded things around my legs, ties me in with some carabineers (which I make sure are locked), and then gets me to hop over to the jump spot. All this time Allison is filming me (video clips courtesy of her), and I give her one last look as I realise what I am about to do. [Installment #3] But at this point, you're so far along that you can't stop the process. You have two guys standing right behind you, music is blaring, the countdown begins 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... JUMP! And next thing you know, you're flying through the air![Installment #4: The Jump!] It was only once I jumped off the bridge that I had the presence of mind to wonder what the hell I was doing. My stomach jumped up into my throat (or fell down into it, as I was plummeting head first towards the ground) as I washed the earth rush up towards me. And then the rope pulled taut and I realized the worst ( i.e. the best!) was over and I could simply enjoy the slow rebounds of the bungee cord. I fell between 160 and 180 m on the first jump, and then I rebounded 4 or 5 times before I got pulled up. The world looked so cool upside down! I loved it and will definitely do it again someday! Much to my parents' chagrin, I'm sure :) [Installment #5]