The small bus pulled up to the corner of Camp Street, the driver checked my name and we jumped in. “High winds again”, she said. “You’ll have to be lucky.” My efforts the day previous had been scuppered by similar weather, but something felt different today, and we agreed to take the chance and press on towards the valley. I was absolutely, utterly hell-bent on throwing myself 134 metres off the Nevis high wire bungee.
Upon arrival 45 minutes later, it was easy to see why the wind posed a problem. The Nevis was called a “high wire” for a reason – it was a small shed-like structure suspended in the valley by a few high tension wires. The wind, rather than a steady stream, was gusting sporadically, which was causing the small platform to buck unpredictably in mid-air with every blow. There were, however, momentary periods of calm and the Kiwi’s – ever the optimists – were ushering us eagerly towards the near edge of the fall.
The valley itself was stunning, and in the moments when my eyes weren’t transfixed on the platform hanging in midair, I was able to take in the beauty of the burnt oranges and deep browns of the vast chasm ahead. A rushing river meandered its way through the rock, having probably carved the valley in the first place, maintaining its wild claim on the land. I was jolted back to the task in hand when a small mechanical lift wound its way along the wires towards us and came to a relatively gentle stop. We stepped on, four of us, and it began to whirr back, hundred of metres above the river below, towards the central platform.
Adrenaline began to kick in. There was a glass panel in the floor of the platform which showed the bungee cord hanging in the distance below. It began to clunk upwards and I was brought forwards and sat in a chair. “You go on three,” he said. “Pull the lever at the bottom and you’ll rotate the right way up, otherwise you’ll hang upside down until we get you back.” He tied the rope to my ankles, grinned, and shuffled me to the ‘plank’ poking out over the platform edge. He dropped the rope limply down by my side, it was surprisingly heavy and I almost went with it. I spread my arms, my heart began to pound, I could feel my pupils dilate, alert.
“Three”, I looked down.
“Two”, the river rushed below.
“One”, I looked straight ahead.
“Go”, I threw myself forwards.
I hung for a moment, and then plumetted. The acceleration was startling, and in a second the ground was rushing rapidly towards me. I fell 134 metres in about ten seconds, weightless, at the mercy of the thick chord tied tightly round my ankles. I screamed in utter delight the entire descent.
Some people don’t see the point of bungee, but I couldn’t disagree more. You’ll never feel more awake, more tuned to every sense, and more alive than you do in that 10 seconds when your life is completely out of your control.
500 words on the World 