Zip Lines, Bungee Jumps, Swing Jumps and a Sunset/Booze Cruise!

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May 28th

Victoria Falls, otherwise known to the locals as Mosi-o-Tunya, or translated as “The Smoke that Thunders” is one of the waterfalls with the most water volume in the world. If you get a chance, look up some of the pictures with a Google Image search, and see what it looks like from a birds eye view. To say it’s impressive is a huge understatement.

All of us had decided the previous day what activities we were going to do, after watching a informational DVD at Grubby’s Grotto. There are a ton of activities to choose from, bungee jumping, zip lining, gorge swinging, river rafting (Not possible because the water is too high), micro flights, helicopter rides, rhino and lion walks, the list goes on and on. Nicio, Justin and I decided on doing the combo package for the bungee jump, but I’ll get to that later.

We took the truck down to Vic Falls National Park and paid our $20 to walk around inside and look at the falls, it was soooo breathtaking. I couldn’t really believe where I was to be honest, it was surreal! I recorded tons of videos that you will eventually be able to see here. Cam and I walked together into the park and before we knew it, there they were before us. Well kind of, through the mist of the waterfalls we could make out the gushing water falling over the cliffs. We walked over a bridge and got soaking wet, we were warned before hand so didn’t take our cameras. Let me rephrase that, we didn’t take our cameras that would have gotten ruined due to the water, but I did take my snorkel mask that allowed me to take some photos and videos where others couldn’t. After walking around and above the falls we headed to “the bridge”.

“The bridge” is what it is referred to, and I’m not sure of it’s real name. But I do know that it connects Zambia to Zimbabwe. It’s also where the bungee jumping takes places along with the gorge swing and zip line. The three of us had already made reservations for our jumps and after paying the $135 we walked to the edge of the gorge to zip line to the Zimbabwean side and then do our bungee jump. You can see a video of the zip line over the Zambezi River here. Nerves were high after the zip line (even though I had Mitch with me, our mascot soccer ball). We waited around for a 15 minutes or so while we watched other people jump with a simple but thick rope attached to their legs. We were excited to do the jump and I didn’t even think twice. I was able to wear my snorkel mask for the jump, so you can basically see what it was like for me, eventually the video will be available here. After the bungee jump we waited for a while to do the swing jump. This was my favorite, but not very far ahead of the bungee. Basically they strap you in, similarly to the zip line, and then you take a run and jump off the bridge. Sounds crazy I know! But the free fall was AWESOME and to swing back and forth and enjoy the view of the falls and the gorge from inside it was incredible.

Our adrenaline was through the roof after all the jumps and the general consensus between Justin, Nicio and I was that we couldn’t believe we had just done what we had. We waited around the bar area afterwards and waited for our DVD’s to be created. After watching the videos, seeing the pics and getting our DVD’s, we headed back to the Grotto.

We had a time frame to stick to but we were abit late for our transport to the Zambezi River. Our plan was to take a sunset cruise and see the wild life along the river, oh and it was an all you can drink and eat cruise. There was a braai on board the boat, this is a South African (Afrikaans) word for BBQ. The six of us enjoyed ourselves immensely and even met some of the new passengers for the trip down to Cape Town. I met a couple helicopter pilots from India that were really nice, they were doing work for the UN in the Congo. We saw hippos and a beautiful sunset as we sipped on our drinks and talked about the day we had.

After the cruise we stayed on the river at the bar and had a few drinks and enjoyed our time with Mitch, the mascot. Before too long though, we headed for Jolly Boys backpacker hostel where we were sure to meet more of the passengers that would be going with us to Cape Town. We played a few games of pool and had a couple more beers before heading out on the town. Cameron jumped the gun on Wendy and I and made it to the live music venue before us, but we ended up crossing paths there. We sat and listened to some great live music and even met a couple local girls who we shared some laughs with. The night went on and before I knew it we were being whisked away in a taxi to the Fairmont Hotel and Club to do some dancing. It was a blaaaast and sooo nice to do some dancing again!

Cameron and I made our way back to the campsite after Wendy had her share of dancing and beer. The night was a blast and everyone had a good time, mission accomplished!

Hope you like the photos and videos (eventually!)

Until next time, Pura Vida!

-Brendan

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