NZ trip pt III
day 5 - tue 14/12
finally the day arrived when i was gonna jump. the previous day was found but a tad anti-climatic since i didn't get to jump. it was fun... like a 10 course degustation menu that was missing the main course. like totally mind-blowingly delicious but yet you feel cheated since because you didn't get all that you expected. anyways, we drive down to taupo which is about an hour's drive south of rotorua. oh ya.. that's another thing i totally love about NZ. driving there. you know in those TV shows where they test drive cars, they do it in such scenic locations like glades and mountain bends. that's basically what it looks like driving in NZ. and just about everywhere you look is worthy of being used as a postcard pic.
so i park the car at taupo bungy and go to the office to sign up and pay up, at about 1150. when i go there, the guy at the counter tells me that they are on a "safety break". sounded to me like a euphemism for "smoke break". so whilst waiting, the family was checking out the various boards they had around there. one was for the jumping styles and options. taupo bungy specialises in the "water touch", where you get dunked in the water just as the rubber stretches to the max, the fiirst time around. if you goto the site, you'll see pics of the location. it's a cantilevered 20 m long platform that hangs 47 m over the waikato river. the cliff on which the platform is fixed is kinda horseshoe shaped, so you do get good views of the jump when you're at the ends of it. anyways mom wasn't too keen on the water touch. "you're going SOOO fast and then you wanna get a nose and a mouthful of water?? you're doing it the first time. why don't u wait til your next time before you go into the water?" haha.. and if she has anything to do with it, it'll wlould probably be my first AND LAST time. i totally didn't feel nervous at that point in time. i signed the indemnity form and got weighed. then i walked out to the platform where 2 guys were gonna get me hooked up.
even as i walked to the weighing station on the platform i was quite calm. stepped on it with my sandals on, because the dude said that they have straps to keep my sandals on my feet. my sandals added a whole kg to my weight. then i approach the bench and sit down whilst 1 of the guys ties up my legs and straps on my sandals. whilst doing this, he gives me instructions. "after i hook you up, i want you to walk over to the edge where you see those footprints marked out. look right at the camera and smile. then i'll count to 3 and you'll jump. OK?" to which i just nodded. the loudest thought at that point was "oh wow.. i'm FINALLY gonna be jumping. it's really happening." so after i'm finally hooked up, i shuffle over to the edge.. kinda like a deathrow inmate going on his last walk, with his leg in chains... and you hear someone in the background going "dead man walking". so there i was standing at the edge. looked right to the camera and flashed a grin. then heard the guy call out "one.. two... three!!!" and i bent forward and looked down.
BIG thought/revelation:
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!! AM I SERIOUSLY OUTTA MY HEAD. MAN... THAT LOOKS PRETTY FAR DOWN. A LONG WAY TO GO BEFORE I DIE. SWEET JESUS !!! HELP ME OUT HERE DUDE!!"
i leaned back and asked the guy if he could like push me off. he just shook his head and told me "hey mate.. it ain't too hard. don't think.. just jump when you hear 3" i nodded the nod of the condemned.
rationalising thought:
"lookie here boy.. thousands of people have done this and none have died. and you knew that till abt a minute ago. and look.. that 99 bucks ain't refundable and you can't transfer the jump to anyone else. so you either do it or you burn it. and REMEMBER.. you're probably never gonna EVER do it again."
so this time on the count of 3, i stepped off the ledge and went down feet first for about 15 odd metres before turning upside down and coming to about 2 or 3 feet from the water. at which point my right sandal came off. so much for their extremely safe strapping technique :Þ i had my eyes closed from the moment i stepped off the ledge for like a whole moment and when i open my eyes, i see the water about a meter away, and feel my sandal dropping. but i must say, i found the jump quite exhilarating and nowhere near as jarring as i expected it to be. i was expecting a major deceleration from like 100-0 in 1/2 a sec, but the rubber kicks in about 1/2 to 2/3 way into the jump, so it's a gentle deceleration. anyways i figure that i didn't have time to reach terminal velocity, which is what i'd like to do the next time i jump. from about 200 odd metres that would have to be :D.
so when the rope finally came to a rest, 2 guys in an inflatable raft got me down and then i walked up the cliff. that 10 minute trek TOTALLY used up whatever adrenaline rush i had after the jump. so i wasn't feeling too bouncy. i checked out the video my parents took... which is how i knew about my orientation during the jump.
the exciting part of the day done, we went trekking in orakei korako, the hidden valley. extremely pretty. really looked like something from jurassic park.. except without the psycho dinosaurs. check out the pics at the website to get what i'm talking about.
til the next instalment..toodles!!
finally the day arrived when i was gonna jump. the previous day was found but a tad anti-climatic since i didn't get to jump. it was fun... like a 10 course degustation menu that was missing the main course. like totally mind-blowingly delicious but yet you feel cheated since because you didn't get all that you expected. anyways, we drive down to taupo which is about an hour's drive south of rotorua. oh ya.. that's another thing i totally love about NZ. driving there. you know in those TV shows where they test drive cars, they do it in such scenic locations like glades and mountain bends. that's basically what it looks like driving in NZ. and just about everywhere you look is worthy of being used as a postcard pic.
so i park the car at taupo bungy and go to the office to sign up and pay up, at about 1150. when i go there, the guy at the counter tells me that they are on a "safety break". sounded to me like a euphemism for "smoke break". so whilst waiting, the family was checking out the various boards they had around there. one was for the jumping styles and options. taupo bungy specialises in the "water touch", where you get dunked in the water just as the rubber stretches to the max, the fiirst time around. if you goto the site, you'll see pics of the location. it's a cantilevered 20 m long platform that hangs 47 m over the waikato river. the cliff on which the platform is fixed is kinda horseshoe shaped, so you do get good views of the jump when you're at the ends of it. anyways mom wasn't too keen on the water touch. "you're going SOOO fast and then you wanna get a nose and a mouthful of water?? you're doing it the first time. why don't u wait til your next time before you go into the water?" haha.. and if she has anything to do with it, it'll wlould probably be my first AND LAST time. i totally didn't feel nervous at that point in time. i signed the indemnity form and got weighed. then i walked out to the platform where 2 guys were gonna get me hooked up.
even as i walked to the weighing station on the platform i was quite calm. stepped on it with my sandals on, because the dude said that they have straps to keep my sandals on my feet. my sandals added a whole kg to my weight. then i approach the bench and sit down whilst 1 of the guys ties up my legs and straps on my sandals. whilst doing this, he gives me instructions. "after i hook you up, i want you to walk over to the edge where you see those footprints marked out. look right at the camera and smile. then i'll count to 3 and you'll jump. OK?" to which i just nodded. the loudest thought at that point was "oh wow.. i'm FINALLY gonna be jumping. it's really happening." so after i'm finally hooked up, i shuffle over to the edge.. kinda like a deathrow inmate going on his last walk, with his leg in chains... and you hear someone in the background going "dead man walking". so there i was standing at the edge. looked right to the camera and flashed a grin. then heard the guy call out "one.. two... three!!!" and i bent forward and looked down.
BIG thought/revelation:
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!! AM I SERIOUSLY OUTTA MY HEAD. MAN... THAT LOOKS PRETTY FAR DOWN. A LONG WAY TO GO BEFORE I DIE. SWEET JESUS !!! HELP ME OUT HERE DUDE!!"
i leaned back and asked the guy if he could like push me off. he just shook his head and told me "hey mate.. it ain't too hard. don't think.. just jump when you hear 3" i nodded the nod of the condemned.
rationalising thought:
"lookie here boy.. thousands of people have done this and none have died. and you knew that till abt a minute ago. and look.. that 99 bucks ain't refundable and you can't transfer the jump to anyone else. so you either do it or you burn it. and REMEMBER.. you're probably never gonna EVER do it again."
so this time on the count of 3, i stepped off the ledge and went down feet first for about 15 odd metres before turning upside down and coming to about 2 or 3 feet from the water. at which point my right sandal came off. so much for their extremely safe strapping technique :Þ i had my eyes closed from the moment i stepped off the ledge for like a whole moment and when i open my eyes, i see the water about a meter away, and feel my sandal dropping. but i must say, i found the jump quite exhilarating and nowhere near as jarring as i expected it to be. i was expecting a major deceleration from like 100-0 in 1/2 a sec, but the rubber kicks in about 1/2 to 2/3 way into the jump, so it's a gentle deceleration. anyways i figure that i didn't have time to reach terminal velocity, which is what i'd like to do the next time i jump. from about 200 odd metres that would have to be :D.
so when the rope finally came to a rest, 2 guys in an inflatable raft got me down and then i walked up the cliff. that 10 minute trek TOTALLY used up whatever adrenaline rush i had after the jump. so i wasn't feeling too bouncy. i checked out the video my parents took... which is how i knew about my orientation during the jump.
the exciting part of the day done, we went trekking in orakei korako, the hidden valley. extremely pretty. really looked like something from jurassic park.. except without the psycho dinosaurs. check out the pics at the website to get what i'm talking about.
til the next instalment..toodles!!
