  Bungee
Jumping in South Africa: For most people, looking over the edge of a 216m bridge
might be quite enough of a thrill. For others though, throwing themselves off the bridge
is a far better pastime. Known as bungee jumping, willing participants attach a special
cord to their ankles and after a fair amount of persuasion and at least 2 or 3 “no, I
cant do it” remarks, they throw themselves into thin air and hurtle down to the
ground below. Just in time, the stretchy bungee cord pulls tight and the jump is complete.
Bungee jumping began ages ago as a tribal ritual for boys to enter manhood. Fresh,
stretchable vines were attached to their ankles and tied to two bamboo towers. Divers were
required to jump from as high as possible and stop as close to the ground as possible to
prove the extent of their manhood. Fortunately today, bungee jumping has evolved quite a
bit and is now performed with only highly specialized equipment. Bungee jumping in
South Africa has earned a global reputation for its claim to having the highest
commercial bungee jump in the world. Positioned along the gorgeous Garden Route, the
Bloukrans Bungee Jump will send you plummeting 216m, headfirst, towards the bottom.
Because of the extreme height of this bungee jump, a full body harness is used, instead of
the traditional ankle harness. The harness, combined with a technique called
‘pendulum bungee technology’, makes for a very comfortable jump - considering
the fact that you’re jumping off a 216m high bridge!
Bungee jumping in South Africa isn’t limited to the Bloukrans jump. 35 Kilometers
outside of Mossel Bay along the N2
highway, is the old Gouritz bridge which was decommissioned for public transport a number
of years ago. The first commercial bungee jump in South Africa, the Gouritz bridge is a
65m jump - ideal for beginners or first-timers. Because of the relatively low height of
this jump, tandem jumps are possible. The tandem jump is also good for the slightly less
adventurous due to the fact that you don’t go off the bridge head-first, but rather
feet first which is naturally far less daunting.
Whats a Bridge Swing? Well, if you fancy yourself as generally an adventurous person, but
you simply can’t get your head around jumping off a 65m bridge head-first, then why
not try bungee jumping’s little, slightly less scary brother, the Bridge Swing. A
safety harness is attached to your waist and a specialized rope is attached to a second
bridge, 20 or 30m away from you. As you jump, the rope quickly pulls taught and you swing
forwards and rather rapidly over the ground a few meters below. Granted, you’re still
jumping off a bridge into seeming oblivion, so bridge swinging will still take some guts,
but it’s not quite as scary as bungee jumping.
Because of the inherent danger of bungee jumping and its unique requirements in terms of
location, there aren’t many commercial bungee jumps in South Africa. However the
quality of the bungee jumps that South Africa does have to offer, more than make up for
its lack in quantity. So if you’re up for the extreme adrenaline rush of a lifetime,
then make a plan to try South Africa’s world class bungee jumping. |
