All summer long I’ve been conquering my biggest fears and crossing off items on my “bucket list”. Apart from sky diving, nothing scares me more than bungy jumping. Let’s be honest, the concept of bungy jumping is freaking nuts. And freaking nuts I was to even consider jumping head first off of a 150ft bridge into a canyon with a rubber band tied around my ankles.
I would’ve never even dreamt of conquering this huge fear on a random whim, but my Dad dared me. He not only dared me, but taunted me for days shouting, “bun-gy, bun-gy, bun-gy!” He wouldn’t let up, and eventually my stubborn pride made me do it.
You must understand that my dad and I have a long and sorted history of one-upmanship.
This father vs daughter competition started early in life. When I was 5, he flagrantly beat me at board games. Monopoly was the worst, especially when he would buy all the lots and send me to jail just for fun. This unsportsmanlike game continued through out the “Tetris years.” I would spend every evening after school trying to beat my dad’s last score. When I finally did, I would go to bed. That’s when my Dad would sneak in and stay up until 3am beating my score.
On and on this stubborn competition went, until one day on a mini golf course I got so fuming mad at my Dad’s teasing, I threw my putter at a windmill. Not only did I lose, but I was banned from Putt ‘n Bounce for life.
So now you understand why I couldn’t back down from bungy jumping, especially when my Dad surprised me one afternoon, by taking me straight to the bungy jump at Nanaimo’s WildPlay.
Now, I figured that since my summer of extreme activities white water rafting with Hyak and zip lining in Whistler with Wildplay, I’ve bascially got my fears in check. How scary could a little bungy jump be?
I was peppy and filled with confidence as I strutted up the bungy bridge that stretched across a river canyon.
“This is easy peasy,” I thought to myself. “No sweat”. Then, I caught a glance of the girl who was in front of me, pale as a sheet, and uncontrollably weeping to be taken off the platform after standing up there for 45 mins.
“Ok, maybe a little scarier than I thought”.
My hands started to shake and clam up and I caught a severe case of Jello legs. The terror hit me when they bound my legs in cuffs and attached me to the elastic cord. There was no turning back. I hopped out onto the edge of the platform and experienced a sweeping rush of vertigo.
People were yelling, the guides were wishing me luck, and my Dad couldn’t stop laughing. I took a deep breath, but the feeling of self preservation was so great I could not budge an inch. My feet felt like they were cemented onto the platform and my stomach was up in my throat. I was going to have to overwrite my with my with my .
I took one deep breath and jumped off. I was angled more chest first than head first. My arms were flailing and I screamed like a possessed demon. The free-falling was insane, like nothing I’ve ever felt. As soon as I hit the water and whipped back up, I really felt like I was going to die, which oddly enough made me giggle and scream at the same time. I continued to bounce, spin and swing under the bridge until I literally ran out of screams.
I honestly can’t believe I did it. Neither can my Dad. For the first time in a long time, he has no comeback. I think I finally one-upped him.
I’ve only gone bungy jumping once and I loved it….
Insane, cool experience though right?
Paying to play with death off a bridge! Maybe someday I’ll be able to.
Yikes! Brave girl. Ain’t nobody getting me up there.
You soooo got dunked! Nice job!
That’s bloody awesome.
BLOODY.
AWESOME.
Congrats on your jump!
Speaking of Dad-child competition…My brother and I did it at Lake Taupo in New Zealand in 1999 after making a phone call to Dad to tell him that we’d watched our roommate do it. He’d asked why we hadn’t. We told him that it was too expensive…
So he called us all sorts of names that essentially meant you’re a couple of chickens, then told us he’d pay for us to do it so we had no way out…We jumped, it was a blast, and we paid extra for the video so he’d have proof!
Congrats again!
That looks so intense.
OMG you’re crazy or brave – maybe both. I don’t think I could do it. Always been afraid of heights and don’t really even like tall ecalators! Maybe I should face the fear and give it a whirl. I just don’t know if I have enough faith in that bungy cord.
Nice job! i’d never be able to do that.
is hitting the water normal there? I thought the idea was just to free fall and bounce.
Ahahahaha! I totally didn’t expect to see you smack down in the water there, but I guess that occurred when the cord was fully stretched, so it probably didn’t feel like diving into a brick wall…
I’ve always wanted to try this, but I fear I’d end up like that girl before you. My ego couldn’t take it. haha!
Kudos to you!
You are my hero! Way to go, I might try it in my nineties, just in case…
you’re crazy.
Congrats on facing your fears Lisa. I wouldn’t be able to climb up to the bridge.
You rock Lisa. Awesome!
Holy crap that was nuts. Really can’t believe you did that but I have to admit the video is fraking great. I really don’t think I could do something like that, just standing on the edge would frak me out.
Awesome Lisa!!! Very proud of you. I Zip-lined when I was in BC and LOVED it, but I’m not jumping off a bridge with a rubber band on my ankles. Nope, no way. lol
btw, it’s ‘long and *sordid* history’ :)
Cheers!!
you’re freaking nuts.Im afraid of heights and dont think I could ever do that.The hard part would be finally jumping,that gives me the creeps. I have to give you credit though,you’ve got guts even if you’re a little crazy—Bob—
/so much braver than me.
I’ve bungy jumped once, and you’re right, the second bounce is definitely the worst. I think it’s because the first bounce is so scary that you don’t have time to think about anything else, but when you first go down and then are pulled back up for the second bounce, you have time to realize that the terrifying feeling you just felt is about to happen all over again!
Congrats on conquering your fear though, and for not standing there for 45 minutes!
You forgot to jump head first. lol
I did bungy jumping in NZ. The Nevis Bungy was about 134 metres it was so cool. I want to do the one in South Africa which is apparently 230 metres!
Brave Lady!!!
Congrats!!!!
—
http://twitter.com/stelten
oh… my… god… how did you dare do that?!
Congrats on jumping! I’ve gone twice….in the same day. first time jumping off forwards and the second time i jumped off backwards. Oddly the backwards was much less frightening than forwards cause you weren’t looking out into the abyss. Still a ton of fun though and I hope to go again very soon.
So what your dad didn’t jump? If he didn’t you can call him a wimp now :P
Great article! What’s next … running with the bulls in Spain?
Well done girl!
I don’t think I would do it, but I think I’m more afraid of whiplash or detached retinas than the fall itself (not that I wouldn’t have jello legs too). I’d love to go skydiving.
i think i’ll stick with my speeding-parallel-to-the-ground hobbies
No, I wouldn’t do it… no way
But great to see the place again where we have been on our summer vacation… starting in Nanaimo and heading for Yellowstone, GrandCanyon and and and….
I noticed that you were hited by the water!? did it hurted?
you’re so brave LIsa, maybe someday when i could try, i probably would pop you up on my head and encouraging me to do so.
yep, maybe:)
I’m not sure which one is the worst: lifetime ban from a mini golf course or bungy jump?!
/hat tip Lisa. I can imagine how it was standing there at the edge, about to do something that is against any sort of reasoning.
I bet you felt great the rest of the week ;)
Now… the easy part!
Free-fall :D
Superman or no Superman, you are a hero! Never ever, even with the worst taunting would I be able to do such a thing. I do score well at Tetris though.. :)
I love bungy jumping, especially this part when you make a jump into the space and all body tells you: “now you will die” but you do this anyway. It’s like defeating fear of die. Some kind of mental liberation. It’s the best feeling I’ve ever felt. I hope You like it too.
Only one thing I don’t like in bungy jumping it’s first wrench after jump. I always thing “I’ll hit the edge of the platform”, it’s strange annoying little feeling. So next time I think I’ll try parachute jump.
Congratulations for Your bravery!
Cheers,
Anna
Way to go! Now tackle skydiving (if you haven’t already).
So you didn’t tell us you went zip-lining beforehand?
How did that go?
Awesome! Congrats on the jump – facing our fears is one of the toughest things we do! You did it well – screaming like a banshee all the way :o)
Intense! I didn’t expect you to hit the water. Did the girl before ever jump or just back down?
You are OUT OF YOUR MIND. Oh my god, I got tremors just watching that video. Lol… WAY TO GO!
Congrats Lisa!! You did great…and thanks for that deathly scream! Seriously, maybe i use it in a short movie project ;)
I really should try this seeing as I live in New Zealand. Maybe when it’s a bit warmer. Good on ya!
So, Dad didn’t jump. You definitely one up’d him. :-)
Congrats, oh crazy one.