John Kidde Writes

I love doing adventurous things. Hell, it’s in my tagline right up there beneath the title of my site! I might be a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Who can say?

If there’s a building, bridge, platform etc. that I can jump off, I’m going to do it. You can clearly see my header image is of me jumping off a structure. That’s Bloukrans Bungy in South Africa. I wrote about it here.

As far as my partner goes for these sorts of things…not so much.

She’s grounded. Grounded in the sense that she likes her two feet on the ground whenever possible. She does a great job at being ground support. We love her folks, don’t we? Yes.

Back in 2007, when I first went to New Zealand, I jumped off of the Sky Tower and Auckland Harbour Bridge. I knew way back then that New Zealand was an extreme sport capital. Sixteen years later, I still know it. This time I went to a new bungy location: Lake Taupo.

To start it off, Lake Taupo is gorgeous. The town is lovely and the views are spectacular. In the summer, it’s a truly happening spot. In the winter, it’s still happening but not as much. BUT! They have bungy (among other things) and that is year round.

Let’s start with the walk out. The fine folks at AJ Hackett have the utmost respect for you and your safety. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t still be letting people jump off of buildings and structures after all of these years now would they?

They strapped me in. Made sure I was as snug as a bug in a rug in my harness and let me walk out to the bridge. Ok, it was more of a waddle since the harness is a bit snug in some of the more sensitive areas of the body. Let me tell you all this right now, Tom Petty was right, the waiting is the hardest part.

I stood looking out over the river/gorge/water & land below waiting for what felt like an eternity. I saw two people jump ahead of me and then anticipation was killing me. I waved at my partner who would have her two feet firmly on the ground for the entirety of my jump as I continued to wait.

Then it became my turn.

I sat down and they hooked me in to the bungy apparatus. This is their job so the guys there were as cool as could be. If you’re still super nervous at this point just talk to them. Talking makes it easier. The tension will release and you’ll forget all about your nerves. As someone who has done a bungy or two here and there I was still nervous. It had been 10 years since my last jump. Talking to the workers strapping me in calmed me down and, for lack of a better term, grounded me.

After that was all taken care of I shuffled my way to the very edge of the platform. The tips of my shoes were on the edge. Pro tip here: don’t look down now if you’re still nervous. Pick a spot on the horizon and look at it. I looked up, waved at a camera, and then turned my attention to the empty space beneath me. Maybe I should have followed my tip above because for a fleeting moment I felt the nerves again.

The guys behind me counted down from three. After they said the word “BUNGY!” I jumped. Gravity took care of the rest.

With the wind whipping my face and the blood rushing to my head I felt truly alive. The water came at me fast but I kept my form and my wits about me. Unlike the Auckland Harbour jump I did before, I did not get wet. I stayed dry. Except for my eyes. They were watering because the rush of blood to my head was so intense! I forgot all about that part of it. I bobbed for a bit and realized that I just jumped again. Woohoo!

The lads below me in a dingy floated over and reeled me in. After they unhooked me from the bungy and had me take off the harness that was it. I walked back on solid ground up to my partner who had both looks of fear and excitement in her eyes. I was still buzzing from the jump and wanted to get my photos and video. I did just that and then went about my day as if I hadn’t just done something extreme. Just a normal day for me in New Zealand.

Thanks for visiting. Make it a great week and I will see you later!