Something New: Fear is Temporary

It took us some time to recover from our incredible adventure weekend in Jeffrey's Bay! But here is the post you have all been waiting for...THE BUNGY JUMP POST! (COMPLETE WITH VIDEOS AND PICTURES!) The other activities we did last weekend were a lot of fun, but nothing can compare to the bungy jump. It is the World's highest bungy bridge, so we are all feeling pretty good about ourselves at the moment. Just like my last adventure post, this one will also be narrated mainly through pictures. It's the best way to describe the excitement!

Jeffrey's Bay

We began our Saturday adventure by zip-lining in Tsitsikamma...

Zip-lining was the perfect warm-up before heading to Boukran Bridge to bungy jump!

Mentally preparing to jump off the bridge that is behind us

Headed to bungy!

We were a little scared...

Ray's encouragement hug before the big jump!

I jumped holding a Gopro video camera(that is what is in my right hand). This was awesome because now I have the footage of my jump...screams, ridiculous commentary, and all ;)

Getting pulled back up from the bungy

Here is the thing-I was not scared of the jump itself. I jumped with full confidence, but it was not until I was actually in the air that I realized what I had done. The second I was in the air, by myself, all I could think was, "What am I doing with my life?!" Free falling is terrifying and exhilarating. I can't explain it. You love and hate it at the same time. I loved flying through the air. When we finished, Rachel and I both said we would do it again. It was an incredible experience. We even convinced our sweet roommate Sarah to do it too! We were SO proud of her since she has been telling us for months that she would never bungy since she would not come up alive...but guess what!? SHE DID COME UP ALIVE!

As if zip-lining and bungy jumping was not enough for one day, we then headed to ride quad bikes through a game reserve. It was the perfect end to a wonderful day. The ride was so peaceful. (Except when I drove the quad bike...Claire had to hold on pretty tight! You know me-quite the speed demon.) We got to see a lot of different animals and enjoy some beautiful views.

Me and Claire

The rest of the gang

Rhinos

This brings us to Sunday's horse back riding extravaganza.

I promised our Freewalker guide, Murray, that I would be nice when writing about this event on my blog. It may or may not have been the most traumatizing experience of my life. It's a funnier/more animated story when I tell it in person, but here are the basics:

I'm from Roswell, Georgia which is a huge suburb that provided me with as little horse experience as a measly pony ride at a friend's birthday party. Sooo thanks for NOTHING Roswell.
Basically I had never been on a horse, and I definitely did not know how to ride.
I told everyone in the group this...multiple times....
I am sure you can see where this is going...

Halfway through the ride, after I had just learned to trot, (and not well I might add) the horses in the front of the group took off GALLOPING into the sun towards the sea. Sounds cool, right? Wrong! Guess whose horse followed them...MINE! Guess who does not know how to stop a horse? Me. Guess who started panicking? Me.

Finally, the guide in the back caught up to me and explained that my horse was too lazy to gallop and that he was only cantering. She was nice as can be, but considering that I was hyperventilating from the trauma, "only" cantering did not bring much comfort.

Then, to make matters worse, the other horses had trampled over seagull eggs in the sand dunes which made the seagulls extremely angry. So, who did the seagulls try to attack? Me and the guide. I had not even caught my breathe before we had to canter away because our lives were being threatened.

We finally made it to the beach, caught up with the group, and then the guide's horse got all moody and kicked his back leg at my horse directly towards my head! It was so close to me that I was in shock.

IT WAS LIKE A STINKIN' MOVIE! My life was a comedy. An actual comedy.

So after the guide's horse kicked, we couldn't take anymore chances. We trotted all the way home, which meant we got to know each other real well, because it was a long ride back.

So, you won't see me in any of these pictures or videos, because I was too busy contemplating whether or not this was actually my life. I'm just kidding-just trying to make light of a scary situation.

(**Sorry Papa Joe and Joan- I know you want me to be safe!!! I promise I'm trying!)

Moral of the Story: I would rather bungy jump than ever get back on a horse!