Friday, 22 April, 2011
Bright and early found new meaning for our early departure from PE to embark on our 10-day adventure. We’d been packing and skyping into the late hours and had only gotten an hour and a half of sleep before the 630 am car ride. I slept most of the drive to Tsitsikamma and when my eyes opened they were accosted with the sight of breathtaking mountains and sheer drops. The world’s highest bungee jump, Face Adrenalin, at Bloukran’s Ridge was the first stop of the day and 25 out of the 29 in our group made the jump. Laura, Lindsay, Heather, and I sat out the terrifying leap (Lindsay and Heather for financial reasons and Laura and I for fear we might die of a heart attack on the walk there or at the edge of the bridge). The fact that the bridge had cars driving over it while people jumped surprised me for some reason but I’m sure the pumping music on the platform (underneath the road) made the outside world disappear. We were able to watch them plunge and bounce into the canyon from a balcony as well as watch their faces and a zoomed in account of their jump on a TV screen. Everyone said it was the best thing they had ever done, that the thought of utter regret as they got to the edge was replaced with the complete adrenaline of the fall and the total peace and quiet in that moment alone in the canyon. I had a few moments of wishing I had forced myself to do it because the looks of utter ecstasy on everyone’s faces made such a frightening prospect seem appealing. I made a pact with Laura that we would do something that terrifies us before we leave (she went skydiving in Drakensburg at the end of break). I’m not sure what else I can do that terrifies me other than skydive and I’m not sure I would be able to do that unless Zach became a professional skydiver first and jumped out of the plane with me. Something tells me that won’t happen in the next 3 weeks. So I may have to extend the pact to the next few years.
Bright and early found new meaning for our early departure from PE to embark on our 10-day adventure. We’d been packing and skyping into the late hours and had only gotten an hour and a half of sleep before the 630 am car ride. I slept most of the drive to Tsitsikamma and when my eyes opened they were accosted with the sight of breathtaking mountains and sheer drops. The world’s highest bungee jump, Face Adrenalin, at Bloukran’s Ridge was the first stop of the day and 25 out of the 29 in our group made the jump. Laura, Lindsay, Heather, and I sat out the terrifying leap (Lindsay and Heather for financial reasons and Laura and I for fear we might die of a heart attack on the walk there or at the edge of the bridge). The fact that the bridge had cars driving over it while people jumped surprised me for some reason but I’m sure the pumping music on the platform (underneath the road) made the outside world disappear. We were able to watch them plunge and bounce into the canyon from a balcony as well as watch their faces and a zoomed in account of their jump on a TV screen. Everyone said it was the best thing they had ever done, that the thought of utter regret as they got to the edge was replaced with the complete adrenaline of the fall and the total peace and quiet in that moment alone in the canyon. I had a few moments of wishing I had forced myself to do it because the looks of utter ecstasy on everyone’s faces made such a frightening prospect seem appealing. I made a pact with Laura that we would do something that terrifies us before we leave (she went skydiving in Drakensburg at the end of break). I’m not sure what else I can do that terrifies me other than skydive and I’m not sure I would be able to do that unless Zach became a professional skydiver first and jumped out of the plane with me. Something tells me that won’t happen in the next 3 weeks. So I may have to extend the pact to the next few years.
Following the death-defying bungee, we drove to Tsitsikamma National Forest. The drive down to the coast wound through think forest that held an element of jungle in its leaves and roots. The waves crashing along the rocky coastline were absolutely spectacular, each at least 20 feet with impressive spray misting over the rocks and drifting up to us. Our tour guide took us on a hike along the Otter trail, which he warned would be quite hard. We took it a pace so fast that pictures turned out blurred as we walked. We were still able to cath glimpses of the beauty surrounded us as we hiked up and down rooted hills and traversed along the huge boulders of the coast. The boulders presented a special challenge for those of us who were vertically challenged because our feet were almost always 5 inches short of their destination and leaping onto unstable rocks was a little nerve racking. We finally reached the waterfall and proceeded to jump in the water and swim up to it, climbing onto it for a photo op. The water was quite literally the coldest water I had ever felt in my life. Laura and I nearly panicked on impact with the icy pool and Taylor’s reminder to breathe was quite helpful. We were helped up onto the rocks of the waterfall and stayed there for enough time to calm down and take in the brilliant sight of ocean coast in front of us and mountains stretching behind us. The hike back seemed less strenuous and we enjoyed the strength it took to clamber over the rocks. By the time we got to the backpacker for the evening, we were exhausted and ready for the yummy meal provided across the street. After dinner we sat around the fire and chatted for an hour or so. After a phone call to Mom and Zach, I went to bed happy and tired and ready for the next 9 days of the adventure.
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