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When I woke up on the 13^th of December 2009 I had no idea what I was to do later that day.  In some ways it’s a blessing in disguise as ignorance is bliss but on the flip side you need to mentally prepare yourself for certain things that life will throw your way.  This really was something that was thrown at me as to be perfectly honest it was never high on my list of things to do in NZ or before I die for that fact, still when faced with something that challenges me I will hit it head on and rise to the occasion.  On the road between Wannaka and Te Anau lies the birth place of something very special to NZ.  It’s the spiritual home of something which NZ has become synonymous for, something that a lot of people travel miles to see and do, something so special you have to be a little special to do it.  On November the 12 1988 a thrill seeker named AJ Hackett threw himself from the Kawarau bridge officially opening the world’s first full time bungy site and here forth the bungy phenomenon began. 

I was actually busy writing a blog when Martel made this unscheduled stop and I never even saw the signs which made her stop so when I looked up and saw where we were I was quite surprised.  I had picked up some of the leaflets from the various Information centres but really not given them any thought as to their whereabouts. 

The girl who thought about it and thought about it

We walked through into the viewing area and positioned ourselves at about the same level as the jumpers and watched as a girl cogitated her jump simply delaying the 43metre drop.  I watched in amusement as she stalled and then stalled and then sat down saying “I need more time”  I was laying bets that she would bottle it and as she shuffled back out of site I was convinced I had backed a sure looser.  To my amazement she jumped up and walked straight off the edge and fell into her 5 second free fall before bouncing back up “good girl” I said, “but let’s be honest it’s not that hard, doesn’t look to high at all” oh how I would come to rue that comment as Martel turned to me and said “you do it then, it’s easy for you to say from here”….. That was all the incentive I needed, I turned and walked back to the camper to put on my trainers all the way thinking “is this a good idea?” then thinking “it’s a lot of money, do I really wanna spend this?” but I’d made my mind up and there was no going back now.  Martel wasn’t interested in the slightest in doing a jump and this suited me down to the ground as she could be my camera person and benefactor of my extensive wealth should my mass of muscles snap the bungy cord or should I plunge into the sea and not bounce back up wedging my head between two unseen rocks, who was I kidding!!  To my absolute amazement I was met by a sheepish nervous looking Martel saying “I can’t have you do something like this on your own, I’m doing it as well!!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, not only did she want to jump but she wanted to jump attached to me! I am a walking liability and possibly the unluckiest person alive but I wasn’t even going to attempt to talk her out of it as the thought of us both plunging to our demise was quite romantic – I’m sure our family wouldn’t see it like that.  So that was that, we signed up paid our money and we were about to jump 145 feet tied only by our ankles, together! 

Don't look down!!

We slowly walked to the bridge and suddenly you were aware of just how high you were about to fall.  From the side view the bridge doesn’t look to high but when you’re standing looking down, let me assure you, it looks bloody high.  In these sorts of situations I’m my own worst enemy as I analyse everything, the wind, the surroundings, the state of the ropes, all the time looking for something out of the ordinary that may cause a chain of events that end in catastrophe.  The guy tying our bungee cord kept asking the time and seemed in a rush, “nearly time to leave off he said”.  That was the last thing I needed to hear as when I’m in a rush to get home the only thing that’s really on my mind is finishing and getting home.  To say I was concerned he had made a rush job of the knots he had tied round our ankles was an understatement but it was too late now.  We were tied and stood up and facing the sheer drop below us.  Your told ‘don’t look down’ but the first thing you do is look down, I did it and so did Martel.  Ducks animal life 2 miles away heard her exclaim “fuck” as the realisation of what I her competitive nature had coaxed her into struck her.  I shuffled forward to the edge of the platform trying not to fall, what was I thinking, I was about to jump I thought.  A quick smile to the camera, a quick wave to the watching crowd and… wait a minute…. “Let go of the bridge Tiny Dancer” the bungy crew asked, there is only one Tiny Dancer up here I thought, “let go of the bridge Tiny Dancer” he said again.  I’m not sure even Martel knew she was still clasped to the bridge so a quick look back and a “Marls, let go, come on” and 3-2-1 Bungy!!!!

What were we thinking?!

What went through my mind in the next few seconds is a bit if a blurr but I do quite clearly remember thinking “if I don’t go on 1 I’ll never go and I’m not letting my girlfriend drag me off the platform and then brag about how she had to pull me over the edge” I also remember thinking “re wire your brain like a plug as everything in your body and mind will be telling you not to jump so I just ignore it” It worked, we jumped on 3 no hanging about and let me tell you throwing yourself off a perfectly good bridge is an awful as the few seconds you free fall you quite honestly feel like you’re going to die but the adrenalin rush after is awesome.  The whole time you’re falling your praying that you bounce back up, thankfully we did.  We have dvd proof, profanities and all so look forward to showing you all when we get back home!

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