I decided to get up and start blogging. I took my stuff out to the kitchen area to find Joe, packing up and getting ready to head to the falls. I made myself a cup of coffee began typing and chatting with him. Everyone slowly woke up and trickled out, ordering breakfast, getting ready and packing up. We got our stuff together, got a cab and headed towards Shearwater, the company we booked rafting through and also bungee jumping.
The shuttle provided by the company would only provide transport for those jumping, which meant not Bec and Mitch. The two of them decided to walk with their bags across the border to the bridge and meet us. Meg, Holly, and I jumped in the shuttle and were off. We crossed the bridge, got our exit stamp, and went up to registration. In our shuttle, and staying at our hostel were Mary and Zoey. Two best friends from NYC who also happened to have been in the other raft that ratted with us yesterday! It was fun to have more familiar faces. The five of us got registered, weighed and numbers written on our arms for the jump masters to read. We agreed that Mary would go first, I would go second. Holly, Meg, and Zoey just wanted to see someone else jump first and be okay before they went.
Well, turns out, it didn’t work out that way.
I jumped first.
That was unplanned, but so fun! I was definitely not as nervous or worried as some of the others, but I did not anticipate going first.
The guide setting me up and strapping me in was awesome. Explaining to me about my backup harness, how it is 100% safe and I will be fine. I really wasn’t worried, but it was nice to hear. They called my name to go first, I went under a gate onto the main platform where another gentleman wrapped blankets around my legs and began to secure them together for the jump. A guy was filming this the whole time. They strapped a GoPro to my arm, helped waddle me out to the edge of the platform (can’t walk much with legs bound together) told me to keep my arms stretched out strong and wide to avoid spinning and to make sure I jump our head first. So I did. They counted down and I jumped.
What a thrill. What an absolute thrill! Just free falling, then bouncing like a rag doll (which doesn’t hurt nearly as much as you would think) and coming straight back up to bounce again. It was a TOTAL blast.
I was so proud of her. This is something she was terrified to do, completely out of her comfort zone, and she did it. Which was really cool.
After Holly, we watched Meg jump. And then we all went to watch our videos and see our photos. Well all purchased them. I was definitely still feeling wheezy. Mophy, Axon, and Itay had met us back at the bridge before we even jumped. So all of us walked to Mophy’s car got in and Mophy told us we were going to a walking lion tour. This was news to us. We drove to the place. We were all iffy about the situation because we were unsure if they were actually a conservation and rescue site OR just another company capturing, sedating, and taking advantage of these wild animals. If it was the latter, we did not want to give them our money. It was unclear so I chose not to go. Holly and Mitch went and Bec, Meg, and I waited in the lobby reading and just hanging out.
After this, we headed to the national park for a walking rhino tour! We drove into the park and followed a dirt road. Along it we saw a lot of gazelle and monkeys. Across the lake I saw another elephant! We drove for a while, I still wasn’t feeling well from the jump. Eventually we stopped and got out.
After waiting a bit, park rangers with ak47’s appeared. They gave us a safety briefing explaining that the national park is here as a conservation to protect the animals. They were going to guide us single file to where the rhinos were currently at. Apparently there is a person whose sole job is to hide in trees and follow and move with the rhinos so they know where they are at all times. The guide made a big point to let us know that the rhinos are not tame and wild beasts and to listen to their instructions. Their guns are only there to shoot in the air to scare away animals if needed. They are not allowed to shoot them.
We walked down the path and there they were! Rhinos! Just grazing in the grass, doing their thing. There was even a baby one! It was adorable. We took photos of them, a group photo, and as fast as we were there, we were gone.
After we got back to the car, we headed to our hostel. Surprise surprise, this hostel like pretty much the rest of them, wasn’t expecting us. Mophy. Again. They made up a room for us, we put all our stuff down to get situated and headed out to the lobby/bar area. We tried to use their wifi, but it sucked. It was late and everyone was tired so we chose to order food for delivery. That was delivered, we played some Rummikub, and one of Bec’s friends she had met in Sri Lanka came to visit. She is Danish and currently living in Zambia. She saw Bec was here and came to the hostel. Itay was also at this hostel with us, so we had a nice little group.
Eventually, Itay built a fire in the fire pit and people started shifting that direction. Holly and I sat over there for a while with Itay, a young guy (also from Denmark) and others. By the end of the night, all of us were around this bonfire talking, swapping stories, sharing what we’ve seen. The guy from Denmark, Sebastian, had a crazy story about how he met some photographer on Lonely Planet who was looking for a companion through the rural parts of Namibia. They talked, he joined his journey, and saw amazing things. He had a great story about how their car broke down and they had to go to a local village to ask for help. People took photos of the two of them because they were white, a police officer was arguing with a man who refused to sell him a goat, and women were topless. It was a really cool experience that not many would ever get. It got late and everyone went to bed.
The Wandering Sandals 