Bungee Jump!

By Jonathan

It was a scorching hot day and walking to the bridge was like walking in an oven. Our backs were to the sun and I literally thought I would burst into flames. My shirt was stuck to my back. Sweat was pouring down my face and neck. To top it all off, I made the mistake of wearing black shorts and a black shirt which made it much worse.

At last we got to the bridge and I looked down (400 feet) to the river and my insides churned. As we were walking along the bridge, about ten African guys came and asked us if we were doing the bungee jump and after we said yes they said, "We'll cheer for you, and, after you survive the jump, you can buy these bracelets from us, your supporters."

We got to the place to register but the workers were on lunch break and we had to wait an hour.  As the jump came closer I was getting more and more scared. Finally it was time to go. We walked back to the bridge and they started getting us ready. Daddy was first to go so they started putting the harness on him. It was unreal that this was happening. I still couldn't quite believe it. The workers then opened the gate for daddy to get on the platform and then they started putting on his ankle straps. I was looking down at the water which seemed to get farther and farther away. I looked over to daddy who was now all really to jump. He was standing on the ledge and the I heard "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!" And he jumped far out and went down, down, down 364 feet and then bounced. He went way up and then down and bounced a few more times. It looked so scary. He was being thrown around like a rag doll, and then I realized that I had to go next. 

They put the harness on me and I climbed through the gate. They had a video camera there and were asking me questions that I can't really remember. I was thinking about the jump a lot more than the questions. They had finally finished putting on the towels around my ankles and I asked them if it was sturdy because it didn't look at all sturdy. They said everything was good and reassured me that I wasn't going to fall. I then waddled up to the where they told me to put my toes past the platform. Then said "look out at the horizon" and I knew it was about to happen "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!" 

Without thinking I jumped off with my arms out. I lost my voice when I tried to yell. The ground was getting closer and closer; I thought I was gonna hit. When at last I thought I was dead, I felt the cord catch.  The cord stretched to its full length while slowly dropping me about 20 feet, and then it stopped for a split second. Whoosh! I came flying back up and at that point I didn't know where I was. "What the heck!" I screamed. I didn't know which way was up or down. I was spinning so much and still couldn't find where I was until I reached the bottom and the cord stretched out again. Then up, down, up again until I was just bouncing 20 feet, then ten, five, and then I stopped bouncing and felt blood rushing to my head, which reminded me of the river below.

After about ten seconds of hanging there upside down, one of the workers came down to get me up, and, when he came close enough, I started to grab his harness and anything I could reach. I was frantically clawing and clutching blindly at anything until he finally said, "Just relax."  "Ha, ha, ha, sorry!" I said.

I was so relieved when he pulled me up and it was over. I have done the 15th highest bungie jump in the world! Victoria Falls 364 feet!