1. won't let go.
2.
3.
saturday night reece informed us that it was half price bungy jumping weekend for locals/workers. the other girls were ecstatic with this news while i was quietly (or not so quietly?) freaking out. heights are not my thing. but a few drinks past the point of buzzed and i had nearly forgotten the looming threat of sunday. in fact, it wasn't until after sunrise, downing a substantial amount of water, rolling around on josey and kris at 9am, devouring 2 poached eggs on toast, and di making the call to book our jumps that the comfort of my denial began to fade.
fast forward 3 or 4 hours and im standing on kawarau bridge, the world's first ever bungy site, 43 meters/141 feet in the air. I'm praying a) i don't get blown away by the outrageous gusts of wind, and b) i don't pee my pants. when a man handed us our harnesses i told him we had mothers who love us and so he should take good care of us. he wasn't the least bit amused. maybe he had heard it before. i asked the next guy who strapped my legs in if anyone had ever peed themselves while jumping. he told me yes and reassured me that he was in fact peeing himself at that very moment. again, i could see i was not impressing the kiwis. finally when i got up to the ledge i asked a third man every stupid question i could possibly think of as to buy myself time ("so um, do i just like...jump?). he was patient but firm when i refused to let go of the handle bar behind me (see photo 1). he had me look first at one camera and then wave to another and without pause he counted 5-4-3-2-1-jump. but jump i did not and i remained standing beside him apologetically hyperventilating. i attempted to ask him yet another stupid question; to this he only said, "20 questions is up. 5-4-3-2-1..." or i assume he counted because i jumped, but i honestly don't remember.
it was amazing. i was only disappointed that i was supposed to touch the water and didn't. oh, and that my air position was less than cool (see photos 2 & 3). the first thing i said when my bouncing slowed was, "i didn't pee!" to which i heard someone say congratulations. i looked down to see a boat directly below me with 2 guys and a long pole. they hoisted me in and somewhere across the hemispheres brigid breathed a sigh of relief.
next bungy: Nevis (134 meters/440 feet)
