One of my goals in coming to Africa was to do a bungee jump while at Victoria Falls. I had seen contestants on the TV show The Amazing Race bungee from the Victoria Falls Bridge, and I decided that I wanted to jump when I got here.

I went onto the bridge with Mar, my new great friend from The Netherlands, and signed up for what is called The Big Air Package. Three thrilling stunts – a zip line across the Zambezi, a bungee jump off the bridge and then a swing off the bridge.

The first stunt, the zip line, was an easy run from the Zambia side of the gorge to the far corner of the bridge’s catwalk under the main roadway.

To get back onto the main roadway, I had to walk to the end of the bridge’s catwalk on the Zimbabwe side, climb up a small hill and then get back to the center of the bridge walking along the roadway.

The Victoria Falls Bridge was built in 1904 and features one lane for vehicular traffic and one lane dedicated to a rail line, which is still in operation. The border between Zambia and Zimbabwe (which is delineated by the Zambezi River below) runs right across the center of the span.

The second stunt to execute was the bungee jump. They had me step onto the platform, where I sat down and they attached the harness to my ankles. The harness consisted of wrapping two bath towels around each ankle very tightly and then wrapping a canvas strap around the towels a couple of times and then cinching the strap very tightly to create a vise-like bind. The strap was then securely tied off. It didn’t feel like it would come off. Finally the bungee was attached to the carabeener at the end of the canvas strap.

I swung my feet around and waddled to the edge of the platform. The bungee is advertised as a 111 meter drop (364 feet).

The crew counted down, “Five, four, three, two, one…bungee!” and I leaped into the abyss.

The initial drop was the ultimate stomach drop. If you’ve felt that unsettling feeling, you’ve known it will end after a few split-seconds. In this case, it just kept getting more and more intense.

Finally, I hit the bottom and then very softly began my ascent. It was a very cool feeling – the only challenge being that I was upside down. After a number of ups & downs, Timba came down on a rope, attached me to a different line and then I was rightside-up. We then were raised up to the same catwalk as before. It was a fantastic experience.

Finally, I had the opportunity to do the swing. Same platform, but this time I was fitted into an upright harness rather than a bungee cord attached to my ankles.

Again the crew recited, “Five, four, three, two, one…swing!”, and I bunny-hopped off the platform. The drop was longer than the bungee – I’m not sure how far, but it was an incredible feeling. The drop ended with a swing at the end of the cable. The end was much better since I was upright, and I got a great view of Victoria Falls.

I will post videos once I am able to get to a decent internet connection (which may not be until I’m back stateside). But, rest assured, they’re fun.

Mar and I returned to Jollyboys – me full of adrenaline and her dumbstruck that someone was dumb enough to do these stunts!