Movie Monday: Bungee Jumping over the Zambezi River at Victoria Falls

If you caught last Monday’s movie of me skydiving in Namibia, you may have noticed that I was on a bit of an adrenaline-adventure kick while in Africa. Part of my soul searching was infused with a bit of reckless “I’ll try anything” behavior. It suited me well at the time; it was a now or never kind of mentality.

This second “amateur” video was shot by my friend Julia (she is the blonde waving, above). Less of a music video (you’ll notice the absence of a cool soundtrack), it shows the reality of the entire jump, including the bit where they reel me in!

Bungee jumping was definitely the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I can’t say that I’ll ever do it again. Skydiving, yes. Definitely. Bungee jumping? No. I don’t think so. There is something so immediately terrifying about watching the ground rush up at you in a matter of seconds. It’s very unnatural. I couldn’t stop shaking for about an hour.

That didn’t stop me from completing my triple play package, though! Three “experiences” at one discounted price. The first was an easy zip-line across the Zambezi canyon, then the bungee jump, and last, the “swing.” Sounds light and fun, right? Swing? Wrong. It was almost worse than bungee jump! Instead of diving head first, I had to jump feet first, but the fall seemed infinitely longer for some reason. Do you ever have that dream where you’re falling and you jerk yourself awake? This was that nightmare, in the flesh! After the never-ending drop, the rope finally caught, and there ensued the “swinging.” There were no “weee’s,” only, “please come get me,” as I hung in an uncomfortable thigh-grip seated harness.

Here’s a overly long video of the harrowing “swing” experience:

Would I recommend these activities to anyone seeking thrills and wanting to try it at least once in their life? Heck yes. It was definitely worth it. As I already said, though, I don’t think I’ll ever do it again!